Inside the World of Die for Me Read online

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  The girl had short-cropped blond hair and a shy laugh, and the natural way she kept leaning in toward the boy next to her made me think they were a couple. But upon turning my scrutiny to him, I realized how similar their features were, though his hair was golden red. They had to be brother and sister. (Die for Me, Chapter 4)

  QUOTE

  “And we’re not true zombies,” Charles said with a grin, “or he would have already eaten your face off.” (Die for Me, Chapter 13)

  CHARLOTTE VIOLAINE LORIEUX

  Born: January 1, 1927

  Died: February 1942 (at age fifteen)

  Hair: Boyish short-cropped blond hair

  Eyes: Green

  Other: 5’7”; long thin figure; feminine beauty that is not disguised by the boyish clothes she prefers; shy laugh; smells like baby powder

  Preferred weapons: Bow and arrows, crossbow, karate

  DESCRIPTION

  Charlotte and her twin, Charles, were born and raised in Paris’s fifth arrondissement, in the Latin Quarter. Their father was a professor at the Sorbonne.

  During the Occupation of Paris, the twins’ parents ran a clandestine printing press for the Resistance out of a secret room in their apartment. The press was discovered by German forces, and their parents were killed. Charlotte and Charles escaped capture because they had spent the night at an aunt’s house. Afterward, they returned home and carried on their parents’ resistance by hiding two Jewish schoolmates and their parents in the hidden room. Using their parents’ own contacts, they secured enough ration cards to feed and clothe themselves and their guests for over a year. In the end, they were betrayed by a neighbor and, at age fifteen, were shot dead for their activities.

  Jean-Baptiste found them at the mortuary and brought them back to La Maison. Ambrose was already living there, and Charlotte quickly fell in love with him. When she realized that he thought of her as a sister, she kept her feelings to herself and spent decades loving him in secret.

  Charlotte took to life as a bardia with a vengeance, considering her lifesaving mission as a memorial to her parents. However, she has never gotten used to her brother’s deaths. At their execution, she was forced to watch him be shot first. Now, when Charles dies she has vivid flashbacks and, though she knows he will reanimate, is traumatized each time.

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  The light from the fire shone through her hair, making it glow like burnished bronze. Her cheeks and lips were the color of the velvety pink roses in Mamie’s country garden. High cheekbones set off her beautiful deep-set eyes, their irises a bewitching green. . . . They were eyes that looked as if they were used to taking much in, while giving little away. The eyes of an older woman reflecting the spirit of a little girl. (Die for Me, Chapter 11)

  QUOTE

  “Oh, Kate,” she whispered. “I wanted him to choose me.”

  “So did I, Charlotte. I’ve been hoping for that this whole time. It’s really not fair. You would be perfect together.”

  “I thought so too.” She sniffed and wiped her tears away. “But I can’t think like that now. I love Geneviève and I love Ambrose, and if they could be happy together, then I would never get in their way.” (Until I Die, Chapter 28)

  EMILIE MERCIER

  Born: 1942 (age sixty-eight)

  Hair: Blond, expensive haircut

  Eyes: Light brown

  Other: 5’2”; thin

  DESCRIPTION

  Emilie Mercier grew up in the wealthy suburbs of Paris, the daughter of a merchant who had made his own fortune. She met Antoine, her future husband, when she was seventeen, just before beginning her studies in art history at the École du Louvre. They didn’t begin dating until a year later.

  Once they were married, Emilie continued her studies, specializing in painting restoration. Her glass-roofed studio takes up the entire top floor of their apartment building. Emilie’s work is highly regarded, and her clients include France’s most important museums, art dealers, and private collectors from around the world.

  Emilie looks and acts much younger than her age. She emphasizes her position in life with her “uniform” of three-inch heels, over-the-knee dresses or skirts, and her beloved Hermès purse. Her lotion smells like roses, and she has used the same gardenia-scented perfume since Kate was a little girl.

  Although “Mamie”—as her granddaughters call her—comes across as prim and polite, she is energetic and hardheaded and knows how to get what she wants.

  She loves Georgia and Kate (who she calls “Katya”) as if they were her own daughters, and she was at the hospital when Kate was born.

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  Her forehead barely reached my chin, but her perfect posture and regulation three-inch heels made her seem much taller. Only a couple of years from seventy, Mamie’s youthful appearance subtracted at least a decade from her age. (Die for Me, Chapter 2)

  QUOTE

  “Your grandfather’s family made me feel like that in the beginning. It was a case of his parents’ old money versus my family’s new money, and they made me feel like an arriviste.”

  “But that changed?”

  “Yes. When they saw that I didn’t give a hoot what they thought about me. I think that was one reason your grandfather fell for me. I was the only woman who ever had the guts to stand up to his mother.” (Until I Die, Chapter 10)

  FAUSTINO MOLINARO

  Born: 1976

  Died: September 11, 2001 (at age twenty-five)

  Hair: Black

  Eyes: Brown

  Other: 6’4”; square jawline

  Preferred weapons: Glock used in conjunction with sword

  DESCRIPTION

  Faustino is third-generation Italian American and has been called “Faust” since grade school. He translated a passion for helping others into a career with the New York City Fire Department, after completing a degree in physical education at a community college.

  One of the newer bardia at the Warehouse, he acts as Jules’s welcome rep. Jules remarks on Faust’s natural openness and unself-conscious earnestness.

  Faust died rescuing the victims of the 9/11 attacks as a part of the FDNY’s Ladder Company 3. His first and last names are taken from two of the real-life firefighters who died on that day.

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  As we walk, I try to get a reading on Faust. He’s got this regimented air, but not as much as a soldier or policeman. And he struts straight-backed, but with his arms slightly spread, like his muscles are getting in the way. He’s already built big but has doubled his size with some serious time in the gym. Like most guys I’ve seen here, he favors facial hair: long razor stubble for him. Taking a wild guess, I would peg him as a fireman. I wonder if that’s what he was before he died. (Die Once More, Chapter 1)

  QUOTE

  As if reading my mind, Faust glances up at me. “At least I get to do what I love: save lives. Never thought I’d be signing up for an eternal contract when I became a firefighter.” (Die Once More, Chapter 2)

  GASPARD LOUIS-MARIE TABARD

  Born: June 22, 1821

  Died: June 24, 1859 (at age thirty-eight)

  Hair: Black, longish hair that sticks up like porcupine quills

  Eyes: Brown, deep-set

  Other: 6’2”; gaunt

  Preferred weapon: Sword, but has mastery in all weapons

  DESCRIPTION

  Gaspard was a poet living in Paris when he was forced to enlist in the Franco-Austrian War, also called the Second Italian War of Independence. He died in the Battle of Solferino. The horror he saw on the battlefields was too much for a sensitive soul like himself, and it left him with stuttering and nervous tics in his afterlife, which only disappear when he is fighting.

  Gaspard developed a passion for military history and weaponry. He serves as martial arts instructor for the newer revenants. He regularly writes scholarly articles on arms history and contributed research to the cataloguing of the oldest weapons in the war museum at
Les Invalides. He is also the historian of the French revenants, managing the library at La Maison.

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  A man I had never seen before stepped toward me and and gave a nervous little bow. “Gaspard,” he introduced himself simply. He was older than the others, in his late thirties or early forties. Tall and gaunt, he had deep-set eyes and a shock of badly cut black hair sticking up in all directions. (Die for Me, Chapter 12)

  QUOTE

  “Must you insist on walking around the house naked, Jules? It makes me feel like I’m living in some kind of sordid fraternity house.”

  “I’m not naked,” I say, pointing to the towel around my waist.

  “A towel does not count as clothing,” Gaspard chides.

  “Whatever you say,” I respond, and, yanking off the towel, drape it over my shoulders like a scarf. Gaspard shakes his head mournfully and wanders off toward the kitchen, mumbling, “I am living with cretins.” (Die for Her, Chapter 3)

  GENEVIÈVE EMMANUELLE LEFAUCHEUX

  Born: 1916

  Died: 1943 (at age twenty-seven)

  Hair: Thick, platinum blond

  Eyes: Light blue

  Other: High cheekbones; 5’11”; Scandinavian look

  Preferred weapon: Short-sword

  DESCRIPTION

  Geneviève grew up in Paris, and at age twenty-four met a car mechanic named Philippe. They fell in love and got married in 1940, and bought a house in the Mouzaia neighborhood of Belleville, where they planned to live out their days. But when Paris was occupied in World War II, Philippe was forced to repair tanks and cars for the German occupiers.

  Although not a part of the organized Resistance, Geneviève began a resistance of her own. When one of her Jewish friends was taken to Drancy, a prison camp outside Paris, Geneviève rode her bike back and forth to pass the inmates food through a guard she knew from her school days. She was discovered and killed by firing squad.

  Jean-Baptiste found her, took her in, and then—upon her insistence—allowed her to return to her husband, who not only accepted her “condition,” but took pride in her mission as a bardia. Philippe finally died in his eighties and was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery.

  Geneviève is like a sister to the revenants at La Maison, and she is especially close to Charlotte.

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  A striking-looking woman in her late twenties sitting by herself. . . . Thick blond, almost white, hair flowed down her shoulders, and her high cheekbones and light blue eyes made her look vaguely Scandinavian. (Die for Me, Chapter 23)

  QUOTE

  “It takes most of us a while to come to grips with our new existence,” she says, her voice steeped in compassion. “Normally you would have time to acclimate to becoming a revenant before being tossed into the middle of things. I cried for two weeks after Jean-Baptiste found me and helped me animate. And it was months before I was mentally ready to face my destiny.” (If I Should Die, Chapter 40)

  GEORGIA FRANCES MERCIER

  Born: July 1, 1990 (age eighteen)

  Hair: Strawberry blond, pixie haircut

  Eyes: Green, sultry

  Other: 5’9”; curvy figure, fair skin dotted with tiny freckles

  DESCRIPTION

  Born in Paris, but raised in Brooklyn, Georgia was known by all in the New York art and music scene as the extroverted party girl who put on a charming Southern accent when she flirted.

  After her parents died, Georgia decided that she and Kate would move to Paris to live with their grandparents. Unlike Kate, who dealt with her grief by isolating herself, Georgia responded by partying harder than ever, making Paris her new playground. She quickly adapted to her new environment, finding glamorous friends, surrounding herself with musicians and artists, and attending the best parties Paris had to offer.

  Georgia is exceptionally fond of Kate, her younger sister by only seventeen months, and is fiercely protective of her “Katie-Bean.” In New York, she had brought Kate to as many parties as she could, appointing cute guy friends to accompany her sister. In Paris, she continued to try to drag Kate along with her, but Kate resisted, unable to socialize after her parents’ death.

  Georgia and Kate joke about being twins since they’re so close in age, but their personalities couldn’t be more different. Their love for each other runs deep, but their arguments are epic. Papy refers to their fights as “World Wars.”

  According to her mother, Georgia lacks intuition and can never see the bad in people. Because of this, she sometimes finds herself in dangerous situations and questionable relationships.

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  My sister was painfully beautiful. Her strawberry blond hair was in a short pixie cut that only a face with her strikingly high cheekbones could carry off. Her peaches-and-cream skin was sprinkled with tiny freckles. And like me, she was tall. Unlike me, she had a knockout figure. I would kill for her curves. She looked twenty-one instead of a few weeks shy of eighteen. (Die for Me, Chapter 1)

  QUOTE

  “Personally, I’m happy I haven’t run into a murderous killer since, well . . . since you chopped my ex’s head off with a sword.” (Georgia to Kate, Until I Die, Chapter 3)

  GWENHAËL STEREDENN TNDORN

  Born: 1936 (age seventy-five)

  Hair: Gray, long (but worn up in a bun)

  Eyes: Blue

  Other: 5’8”

  DESCRIPTION

  To the general public, Gwenhaël is a guérisseuse—a healer—specializing only in migraines and warts. In reality, she is a member of one of the Tândorn clan, one of a few dynasties of “flame-fingers”—those who heal and work with bardia.

  In the eighteenth century, some Parisian numa used the book L’amur immortel to track down the flame-fingers. Gwenhaël’s ancestor fought them, killed them, and took possession of the book. He tracked down the only other known copy of the book and talked its owner into inking out one of two words indicating their location, while he inked out the other in his volume. Thenceforth, without possessing both books, it would be impossible to find the guérisseurs, protecting them against future numa attacks.

  Gwenhaël’s family had not been consulted regarding revenants for a hundred years. But she was well read in the records her ancestors kept on their thoughts and observations about revenants. (These are kept in the guérisseurs’ archives.) Gwenhaël owned a handwritten copy of L’amur immortel, made by her ancestor, but never saw an original.

  Gwenhaël knew from the stories passed down to her that bardia had an “aura like a forest fire,” and was thus able to recognize Jules as one. Gwen was killed by Violette’s numa after they questioned her about the identity of the Champion. Before dying, she revealed that the Champion was the revenant who killed the last numa leader.

  AT FIRST GLANCE

  Upon entering the room, I noticed an elderly woman sitting by a fireplace in a worn green chair, knitting. She glanced up from her work and said, “Come, child,” nodding to an overstuffed armchair facing her own. (Until I Die, Chapter 27)

  QUOTE

  “I’m sorry, dearie. I’m not making fun of you. It’s just that . . . people think that we guérisseurs are magic, which leads to all sorts of misconceptions. And I know that the shop below must add to my mystique—all the religious artifacts make locals think I’m a witch of some sort. But I’m not. I’m just an old lady whose father passed a simple gift to her: the gift of healing.” (Until I Die, Chapter 27)

  JEAN-BAPTISTE ALEXANDRE BALTHAZAR GRIMOD DE LA REYNIÈRE

  Born: 1776

  Died: September 7, 1812 (at age thirty-six)

  Hair: Gray, wears it longish and slicked back

  Eyes: Faded green, framed by thick brows

  Other: Long, hooked, noble-looking nose; severe look; 6’1”; wears an ascot with suits

  Preferred weapon: Sword-cane

  DESCRIPTION

  Jean-Baptiste was a Tirailleur-Grenadier in Napoleon’s Great Army. He was killed in the Battle of Borodino, Russia, when h
e sacrificed himself by pushing his valet out of the path of an oncoming cannonball. His valet (Jeanne’s ancestor) was determined to bring his master’s body back to France for burial. He was there three days later when Jean-Baptiste animated and helped to hide him until his transition was complete.

  Upon returning to France, Jean-Baptiste lived out the next two centuries in his new role, as Seer of Paris. He actively sought out and organized France’s bardia, who until then had operated in small groups or alone, and appointed Seers for each region. He set up a network that facilitated the movement of bardia through France, relocating those who had died in one region to live in his houses in another, thus ensuring that humans didn’t recognize them after their frequent deaths.

  Already from a wealthy background, Jean-Baptiste expanded his family’s fortune and invested his profits in Paris real estate. Some buildings he set aside for the bardia. The rest he rented out, ensuring the financial stability of his kindred for years to come.