College Years - Interlude - The Dark Court

"My Lady, my Lord," the Baron said in a deep and musical voice. "It is time."

"He has not come, again," the Margrave mused. "You know what they will ask."

"Our answer does not change," the White Lady replied. "We will hold to the traditions he, himself, laid out." 

Turning slightly, she added, "You will speak for us, Baron Samedi."

"You honor me," the Baron bowed.

"We gather here, in this noble place, on this darkest night, as we have done for centuries," Baron Samedi intoned. "Children of the Night, come forward. The nobles of the Dark Court will hear your petitions."

"My Lord and Lady," Ms. H stepped forward. "I ask you to once again hear my petition. It has now been three winters since Count Straud has take his seat in your august company. We all know he was defeated in his attempt to breach the Glimmerbrook Gate. It is past time to choose his successor and let them take their place upon the Court."

"I would welcome the opportunity," Lilith answered proudly. "Everyone knows that Count Straud raised and groomed me to be his successor."

"That was before you turned from him!" Ms. H snapped. "You would have us lay down with cattle. You are unworthy to speak before this Court!"

"I would have us make peace with mortals, yes," Lilith said. "and live among them, in secret but as equals."

"Mortals are food," Ms. H snorted. "A few among them are good servants and only the best are worthy to be turned."

"Lady Hel, Lady Vatore, please," Baron Samedi interrupted. "You have both, I think, been too long among mortals. You are impatient. Three years is but a moment for we who are immortal."

"Still," he continued, "it is true that Count Straud's absence, and his defeat, are concerning to Court. It may be time for another to take his seat... but we have heard this petition before. The nobles of the Court see no reason to change their ruling and break with tradition.

"As Count Straud himself laid out when he convened the first Dark Court, any who wish take the place of a Noble of the Court, must defeat that Noble. Should a Noble be defeated by one who is not of our kind, then a claimant must defeat the one who bested them."

"Lady Hel, Lady Vatore... if you either of you wish to take Count Straud's seat on the Court, you must bring the one who defeated Count Straud before us. You must drain the power and life-blood of the witch, Miranda Silveroak-Goth."

 

College Years - Chapter 35 - Classified Information

"I don't... I don't believe it," Mariah muttered to herself as she dug through Liberty's files.

Hacking her password hadn't been as hard as Mariah expected. Neither had finding the files on Antonio Basso. There were a lot of them. Reading through even the first few...

"This... I can't believe it," she said again, stunned.

"A couple of things," Liberty said.

Mariah jumped in her seat. The older woman sat calmly, despite being still dressed in her nightgown, in one of the funky chairs, a kind of stern amusement on her face.

"First, you tripped the silent alarms," Liberty continued, "and, second, you didn't disable the camera. You'll want to watch for those things next time."

"I'll try to remember that," Mariah replied.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Liberty asked coolly.

"Is this for real?" Mariah nodded at the screen. "Or is this all some game you're running on me."

"Oh no, those files are quite real," Liberty said. "I'd be running a big risk, letting you in here to read them."

"You didn't let me in here," Mariah bridled. "I broke in."

"Precisely," Liberty nodded. "Now, you asked that particular question because..."

Mariah hesitated before bursting out, "My dad was an informant?!"

"Yes," Liberty nodded. "Tony was one of my assets. He was a friend."

"General thinking in the trade is that that was my first mistake," she continued. "Never get too close to an asset, because you might have to burn them."

"Is that what happened?" Mariah asked angrily.

"Not intentionally," Liberty said. "Like I said, your father was a friend. Big Tony Basso was the Alto underboss in charge of Family business in Tartosa. He was Nick Alto's right hand man and there was talk that he was being groomed as Nick's possible successor. He was a smuggler, a thief and a killer... and despite that, he was an honorable man, even a good man in his own way.

"There are places in the world, in the inner cities and even here in the hills above Tartosa, where the Families are effectively the authorities, the only real functional power. Traditionally, they have their own codes of honor... beyond the Code of Silence... a ruthless, brutal and frankly medieval honor, but honor nonetheless.Your father believed in those codes, and lived by them."

"Not if he turned informant," Mariah pointed out.

"You've had time to read some of the files," Liberty replied. "I could never get Tony to turn on the Family, never get him to break the Code of Silence. Oh, he walked a fine line. He provided with information about operations that came close to the Family business, but he never crossed that line."

"Why, though?" Mariah pressed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Liberty asked. "For you."

"Tony loved you, very much," Liberty continued, "and he wanted you to be protected. You were growing up, and eventually he was going to be forced to make a choice. He could either acknowledge you as his daughter, or not. If he did, you would be protected by the Family, but you would also be drawn into the Family business... you would either become a gangster yourself or, more likely, have been married off to one of Alto's men, a prize for a loyal soldier. Like I said, medieval. Your father didn't want that for you."

"Uncle Nick said my dad wanted me to be part of the Family," Mariah countered.

"Uncle Nick," Liberty's voice poured poison over the name, "lied to you."

"Or you're lying to me," Mariah replied.

"It's possible," Liberty allowed. "I'm a very good liar... but hear me out before you decide."

"Your father didn't want you to be dragged into the Family," Liberty insisted. "He wanted you to be safe and protected. I offered him that, in exchange for information... but the Agency wanted more. My superiors wanted to take down Nick Alto. Tony refused to turn on the Family, but he offered something almost as good. There was another player on the scene, a powerful individual who was negotiating an alliance with the Altos."

"Uncle Nick told me," Mariah interrupted. "My dad was in charge of the negotiations... and the Agency killed him to break up the deal."

"The best lies are always based on the truth," Liberty said.

"Your father offered me information about the deal, and about the new player," Liberty continued. "In exchange for Agency protection for you. I agreed. He told me where he was meeting with the other party and we arranged for me to follow him, observe and listen in on their negotiations. He was so confident... always so absolutely confident... and I was an eager young agent. This was going to be my big win, my chance to prove I was a top agent. Neither of us had any idea how deep the waters we were swimming in really were."

"To this day, I don't really know what went wrong," Liberty sighed. "Somehow, she made us. Somehow, she knew... for all I know, she smelled me. I'd never dealt with anything like her before. You see... until that night, I didn't believe in vampires."

"I can still see her, standing there over his body, blood on her mouth," Liberty whispered, almost to herself. "She smiled at me, and all I thought was how I'd failed... failed the Agency, failed Tony, failed you. It didn't occur to me until later that she could have killed me in that moment. I don't really know why she didn't. Maybe she thought it was funny. She just vanished... she was so fast I never saw her move.

"The Agency moved in, of course," she continued. "The clean-up and debriefing took hours. By the time they let me go, you were gone. Janet must have found out what happened, at least enough to know to run... and run she did. Whatever else we both think of her, she ran fast and she hid deep. I couldn't find you... and I tried... and neither could the Altos."

"It was years later and blind luck that I found you again. I was working on an investigation of drug trafficking in Sulani, and your name came across my desk... in relation to the testimony of Rocco Christman. 

"So, I found you and with you the damning proof of how completely I had failed to protect you. All I could do was try to make up for it. I knew Danielle and Londyn were looking to adopt another child. I knew they would be good and loving parents for you. So I let slip to them about a story I had heard, about a young woman in Sulani who they might be able to help... and I smoothed over any barriers to them doing just that. It didn't take much to encourage them to keep you out of the press as much as possible. They were already inclined to that anyway.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't interfere with the deal Rocco had with the Sulani authorities. In the end, for better or worse, someone lured him out onto a pier one evening and he paid the price for his sins."

"That's what you meant," Mariah said softly, "when you said your felt responsible for my dad's death... and for me. Because you sent him out there, to get information, and it went wrong."

Liberty nodded quietly.

",,, but you left one thing out," Mariah said. "Who? Who was this 'other player' who made the deal with the Altos fall apart? Who killed my father?"

"She calls herself Ms. H," Liberty replied, "and the deal didn't fall apart." Liberty added, "She has been an associate of the Alto Family for years."

 

College Years - Chapter 34 - Night-time Mischief

So, Mariah thought, the files are classified are they, Liberty? That means there are files. Files I bet you have, Director Lee-Rossi, hidden somewhere close by.

It wasn't a long walk, through the cool dark of a Tartosan winter night from Villa Romanza to the little house Liberty and her husband Matteo kept on the edge of town. Mariah had walked it many times, to visit their son Angelo. In fact, she'd done the walk on darker nights than this, sneaking out to meet Angelo and his girlfriend Tomi and make some kind of mischief together.

She wondered, suddenly curious, where Tomi was tonight. Sometime during dinner, Angelo had mentioned he was dating someone else now, but Mariah hadn't really been paying attention. It didn't matter, she supposed. This wasn't a night of teenage mischief with old friends (or whatever Tomi was).

Seriously, Liberty? You're a spy master... you should really have better locks on the door.

Now, where in this house do you keep hidden files. I know you have an hidden office here. The question is, where...

No way! Seriously?! A hidden door behind a bookcase? That's... kind of awesome.

Madonna! Liberty, the '70s called... they want their spaceship back.

Alright, weird computer in the secret spaceship office behind the hidden bookcase-door... if classified files are going to be anywhere, this is it. Now, what is your password?

Not bad, kid, Liberty smiled, switching off the silent alarm as she checked the monitors. Not bad.

College Years - Chapter 33 - Home for the Holidays

"So girlfriends, you got big plans for Winter Break?" Aadi asked cheerfully. 

The tumultuous fall term was finally over and, if things were not all sunshine and roses between all the roommates, the last few weeks of it had at least been better than the ones before.

"The usual," Genie mused, "horrible holiday fund raisers with my dad's creepy political cronies. You?"

"Huge New Year's Eve plans," Aadi grinned "It's going to be Epic! So..."

"It's fine, guys," Miranda said. "I'm going back to Glimmerbrook, to spend the holidays with my moms... and Mariah's going back to Tartosa to spend them with hers. Don't give me that look, Aadi. It's good... really, it is. It's been too long since she's been home..."

-------------------

Home.

In the course of her life, Mariah had lived in Tartosan villas and island shacks. She'd slept on the streets, spent a short but memorable time in a juvenile detention center, and bunked in a foster care group home. For a while, she'd decided that home was something other people had. 

She didn't really remember the moment when she'd started thinking of the Villa Romanza with Londyn and Danielle as home. Still, if home was where the heart is, then she must have two, and one of them was Villa Romanza.

"Welcome home," Londyn said as they kissed cheeks. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too... mom," Mariah smiled, feeling relaxed for the first time in months. "You too, mama," she added to Danielle.

"I'm so glad you're home," Danielle said.

"I'm really sorry about this summer," Mariah started. "I was just..."

"We know," Danielle put in. "You were upset. It's been hard for all of us. We'll talk about it more... later. For now, you should just get yourself settled in. You've had a long trip and you must be tired."

Mariah took a deep breath, "OK... OK, I can do that."

"I have a meeting with my publisher later," Danielle continued, "but we'll talk. We'll figure this out."

"Thank you, mama," Mariah sighed.

------------------- 

"... It's the nature of Liberty's work, honey," Danielle was saying.

True to her word, after Danielle's meeting with her publisher, the family had sat down to talk. At the heart of the discussion lay Mariah's lingering questions about her adoption. Liberty Lee-Rossi was one of Danielle's oldest and dearest friends. She was also, to Mariah's mind, a spy-master... a senior intelligence operative and local director for the shadowy Agency. 

When issues had arisen around Londyn and Danielle's adoption of a troubled Sulani teen, Liberty had used her influence to smooth thing over. Ever since she'd learned from Uncle Nick that the Agency was responsible for her father's death, Mariah had wondered why. Had she just been helping out her friends, or had she had another motive in bringing Big Tony Basso's daughter back to Tartosa?

"There are things she just can't talk about with us," Danielle continued. "but I know she would only do what she thought was right."

"And I'm just supposed to accept that?" Mariah asked insistently. "She only did what she thought was right, but she can't tell us why... or even what she really did?"

"I know it's hard for you, honey," Londyn agreed. "It's hard for me too. After you told us, I was angry. The idea that Liberty might have put you and Danielle - all of us - in danger for some Agency scheme... I couldn't bear it. Danielle insisted that we talk to her..."

"Yeah, well know I want to talk to her," Mariah said firmly.

"Good," Londyn said, "because that's what we all want too."

"I want to... wait, what?" Mariah blinked.

"You should talk to her," Londyn nodded. "You should ask her your questions... but honey, please listen to her answers."

"... and understand," Danielle put in, "that she can't tell us everything... but she's promised to tell you what she can."

"We'll have them over to dinner while you're here," Londyn said firmly. "So, you can talk. She's already agreed."

"OK," Mariah took a deep breath. "OK... that's good. Thank you."

------------------- 

"... I understand that, Liberty," Mariah insisted, "but that's not the point. Every knows the Agency has been involved in shady secret stuff."

"If everyone knows it, we must not be doing a very good job at keeping it a secret," Liberty smiled.

"Yeah, maybe you're not as great as you think." Mariah struggled to keep hold of her anger. She'd promised Danielle that she'd talk to Liberty, listen to what she had to say and, above all, keep her cool. She was trying to be cool. She was trying to be discrete. She was trying, really hard, not to scream and demand Liberty tell her everything the older woman know about her father's death... and about her.

"Mariah, I know you have questions," Liberty said reasonably, "Let's take a little walk, just you and I."

"Now, I know Danielle will have told you that there are some questions I can't answer... but there are some I can," Liberty said as they walked around the pool. "Why don't you tell me what you want to know and I'll tell you what I can?" 

"Sure," Mariah replied, "Let's start with - did you kill my father? I know the Agency killed him, but I want to know if you did it!"

"Oh, honey," Liberty sighed.

"Or, how about - why did you bring me back here?" Mariah continued, her anger boiling over. "Was this all just some Agency scheme... keep me close, maybe use me against the Altos somehow... against my own family!"

"I helped Londyn and Danielle adopt you," Liberty said calmly, "because I believed they could help you. Did I know, when I did, that you were Antonio Basso's daughter? Yes, I did. I knew you father..."

"Did you kill him?!" Mariah demanded.

"I... I can't answer that," Liberty winced. 

"Dio santo! You did!" Mariah cried. "You killed him!"

"No," Liberty said firmly, "I didn't kill him... but I do share the responsibility for it. I carry that and everything that happened to you because of it. That's why I arranged for Londyn and Danielle to adopt you. To make some amends for what I did... and what I failed to do."

"Why? Tell me why!" Mariah demanded. "Tell me what happened!"

"I can't," Liberty said coldly. "No matter how much I might want to, I can't. Those files are classified."

Furious, not trusting herself to speak or even be near Liberty anymore, Mariah turned and stalked away.

Later, in the darkest part of the night...

"So, there are files," Mariah mused to herself.

College Years - Chapter 32 - First Light

The sound of the TV washed over her. Students talked and laughed, lived and loved, around her. It all seemed oddly hollow, distant. Was she really part of their world?

Maybe she should go home and watch the aurora shimmer in the Realm's otherworldly sky. Maybe that was were she belonged.

"Can we talk?" Mariah slipped onto the stood opposite her.

"I tried," Miranda replied sourly. "You said... let me see if I have this right... that I'm jealous of your extortion racket and that I should be satisfied with all the sex I'm having with Genie."

"OK, you remember the first time we went to the Charity Gala?" Mariah asked.

"What?" Miranda blinked.

"The first time we went to the Gala," Mariah said, "and you introduced me to your friend Jenny."

"Who you immediately accused me to sleeping with," Miranda said bitterly. "I swear Mariah... I swear... the next person you accuse me of hooking up with, I am actually going down on them! If I am going to suffer for it, I should at least get to enjoy it."

"O... OK... deal," Mariah stammered.

"What?!"

"I'm an idiot!" Mariah blurted. "A fucked up, insecure idiot. I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have been jealous. I shouldn't have let myself get so deep in Uncle Nick's business."

"You mean Uncle Nick's organized crime ring," Miranda snapped.

"Madonna! Could you maybe keep that down?" Mariah snapped back. "These stronzos are serious about the whole Code of Silence thing... and yes," she added in a whisper, "the organized crime ring. I shouldn't have gotten involved in that... and everything else that came out of that. I fucked up. I really, really fucked up. I'm sorry, OK. I'm sorry."

"Mariah, I don't..."

"I know," Mariah said. "I know. 'I'm sorry' isn't enough... but I've got to start somewhere."

She took a deep breath, "Miranda, have I lost you?"

"I don't know," Miranda sighed. "I... I love you... but I don't know."

"OK," Mariah nodded. "OK, I'll take that... because it would be worse if you did know and that meant I had. I don't want to lose you." 

"I don't want to lose you either," Miranda shuddered.

"We'll figure this out," Mariah said. "I don't know how, but we'll figure this out."

"Together," Miranda said.

"Ummm, you didn't really mean it did you?" Mariah asked. "About going down on the next person I get jealous about... right?"

Miranda just looked at her.

"Right?"

College Years - Chapter 31 - Gloaming

Miranda couldn't remember the last time she'd really slept, the last time she'd eaten. Gwen, she knew, sometimes went days without food or sleep and never seemed to suffer for it. Of course, Gwen was probably crazy.

Maybe, Miranda thought, I'm losing my mind along with my heart.

"Hey, girlfriend," Aadi chirped, then stopped in their tracks. "Oh, no... what's happened?"

"I... I'm losing her, Aadi," Miranda sobbed. "I'm losing her and I can't... I can't bear it."

"Oh darling," Aadi soothed. "Aadi's got you. We'll get through this."

"I don't know Aadi," Miranda sighed. "She won't talk to me. She keeps..."

"Staying out all night, hanging with the Bad and playing in traffic," Aadi nodded. "We know, girl. We know."

"What am I going to do?" Miranda sobbed.

"Girl, you're going to wipe off those tears, fix your makeup and go show the world you are a strong bee'yotch," Aadi said firmly. "You get to class. No, get. Trust Aadi, honey. Aadi's got you."

She's got Genie now. Wake up, girl. Stay quiet, stay still. She's jealous of you. Show you what a real man can do. No. She's doesn't love you. No. You love this. NO!

Breathe. Just Breathe.

Miranda I need to... Oh, Madonna, what have I done?

I've lost her, Mariah thought. 

The fog of fading nightmares and stabbing pains in her head that seemed to plague her every morning were almost a welcome distraction from the reality she'd woken to. Almost. A little pick-me-up would clear the fog and quiet the pain, for a little while. That's what she needed, just a little pick-me-up and maybe some breakfast.

"Girlfriend, I ought to Smack you," Aadi dropped into the chair with their dancer's grace. 

"I'm having a rotten morning," Mariah sighed. "What do you want, Aadi?"

"Good music, a comfortable running shoe you can wear with a nice suit, true love," Aadi replied blithely. "Let's talk about that last one..."

"Go away," Mariah groaned. She just wanted her pick-me-up. Couldn't they leave her alone until she'd had it.

"No," Aadi answered easily.

"Aadi," she started.

"Girlfriend, you need to shut up," Aadi said firmly. "You are about this far from wrecking a great thing... and if you're going to do that, you're going to do it clear... and first you're gonna Listen."

"Look, if she can't handle..." Mariah started.

"Handle what?" Aadi snapped. "You using? You running with Organized Crime? Or just you acting like a mean bitch?"

"She told you?" Mariah snarled.

"What? I'm not blind and I am not a sweet little innocent, like Genie. I can plug Nick Alto into the web and come up with the Families," Aadi scoffed. "Even innocent little Genie can see you're getting high... and you have never kept a lid on the mean bitch."

"Fine, you got me," Mariah replied. "I'm a screw up, a crook, a worthless puttana."

"Girlfriend, if that was true why would I be wasting my morning with you?" Aadi asked. "You are in trouble, no doubt. You dug yourself a nice deep hole and crawled in. Now you've got to decide if you're going to keep digging or you're gonna climb back out."

"I can't!" Mariah sobbed. The pain in her head was blinding, roaring. "I'm no good, Aadi." The hateful whispers of her nightmares hissed in her waking mind. "I'm no good to anyone." They'd been there, waking and sleeping for weeks. "You shouldn't waste your time with me. She should leave me. I'm... " Roaring, like the waterfall. "... a monster."

"No, honey," Aadi said softly. "You're not."

"You are grade A fucked up, right now," Aadi continued gently. "No doubt... but you don't have to stay in that hole, sister. You need to stop listening to those voices... the ones that try to tear you down."

"What?" Mariah looked at Aadi through her tears.

You're a pervert. Wake up, girl. Mariah...

"Don't listen to them," Aadi repeated.

You little monster. Show you what a real man can do. Come to me.

"Don't let them define you," Aadi continued. "You define you, girl. No one else. You choose." 

She couldn't see through the tears, through the pain in her head.

"You can dig the hole," Aadi's voice, like a lifeline. "or you can climb out. You choose."

Breathe. Just breathe.

Madonna.

One deep, shuddering breath. Another. The pain, which had been threatening to rip her open, like fangs against her skin, broke and bled away.

Breathe. 

"Madonna," she sighed. "Madonna santa. Oh, Aadi, what have I done?"

"Fucked up," Aadi replied, breathing again themselves. Mariah's habitual masks had been ripped away by the violence of her feelings and they had watched, afraid for her, as she struggled with her demons. "But we all fuck up, girl. Now you gotta decide what to do next."

"What about... her and Genie?" Mariah asked, worried. "I mean..."

"Girl, I Am going to smack you," Aadi shook their head. "Genie is with Carlos. I have walked in on them doing things on that couch over there that are going require us renting a steam-cleaner. There is only one girl I have Ever seen Genie make eyes for, and it's not Miranda."

"What? Who?" Mariah blinked.

"Smack. You," Aadi said, exasperated. "You're stalling, girl."

"You're right," Mariah said. "You're right. I... I need to talk to Miranda. I need to... I need climb out of this hole."

"... and you need to get rid of those nasty ass boxers, girl," Aadi shouted as she jumped up and raced out of the room. "They got a hole in them and I do not want to be looking at your bare ass."

"Thank you, Aadi!" Mariah called back.

"I'm gonna smack her," Aadi muttered.

Authors Note:  Gloaming - morning twilight, the first hints of light before dawn