Source: Marvel
In this book Anita is more caught up with the threat of The Harlequin than anything else. The Harlequin are the police of the vampires. It is illegal in the vampire culture to speak of them if they haven’t contacted you. It is an automatic death sentence. Well Anita and her friends have been contacted by the Harlequin. They received a white mask. White means they are going to be watching. Red means punishment and torture and black means death. The last type of mask you might receive from the Harlequin is white with little gold musical notes. This one means they want to talk, no harm is coming.
The Harlequin was put together by The Mother of All Darkness, the first vampire ever who embodies the darkness itself. Anita often refers to her as Mommy Dearest. It was Marmee Noir (another name for The Mother of All Darkness) who put together the vampire counsel as well as the Harlequin. The Harlequin is made in the fashion of both the Commedia dell’arte and the wild hunt. They are made up of very old and powerful vampires that are capable to control the minds of humans, vampire and lycanthrope alike no matter the level of power. Marmee Noir put together the Harlequin to keep vampires in line and follow her laws but she however became a threat. A spell was cast and she was put to sleep with the intention of killing her but they could not figure out how to kill Darkness herself.
She is now waking. She is again a threat and she hasn’t even opened her physical eyes. She has a keen interest in Anita. She wants her body and will stop at nothing to get it. She doesn’t want her body for sex, she wants it for life, a new vessel to fill and live in. Some of the Harlequin are moving again, not to harm Jean-Claude and his people but to judge them and see if they will help them in their quest to stop Mommy Dearest and keep the golden clan of tigers safe. Others of the Harlequin want to stop the rebels.
Will Anita and Jean-Claude be able to protect their people from the Harlequin and their tricks? Will their people be able to keep Anita alive until the threat of Mommy Dearest is neutralized? Read the book and tell me what you think in the comments below.
