Authors: Elizabeth Hunter
“Well, what?”
“What’s going on with you?”
Carwyn shrugged. “It’s nothing for you to be concerned about. And my trip here was nicely boring, thanks. I caught one of Jean’s boats to Genoa and came from there. That Frenchman’s not half bad, after all. Fantastic food—”
“Why were you so eager to come here?”
“Aren’t you happy to see me?”
The two old friends kicked the ball back and forth in the low light of the courtyard, the skidding and bouncing the only sound in the still morning air. Giovanni could smell the scent of bread baking at the
paneterria
on the corner.
“Of course I am. And you know how happy Beatrice is to see you. I just wonder—”
“She looks amazing, by the way.”
“I know. That dress does suit her.”
Carwyn shook his head. “I’m not talking about her damn dress. You probably don’t notice because you see her every day, but she looks extraordinary. She’s very comfortable in her skin. Doesn’t have that awkward, hungry look the new ones usually do.”
“Ah. Yes, she’s doing extremely well.”
“If I didn’t know her, I’d think she was twenty years immortal, at least.”
“That old?”
Carwyn nodded, still kicking the ball back and forth, dribbling around the courtyard to amuse himself. He was dressed in black. Black pants, black T-shirt, black leather jacket, but no collar, which he often wore when in Rome.
“So, the meeting with the empress went well?”
“Yes.” Giovanni said. “Livia’s fine. We’re going back on Wednesday for a concert. It’s supposed to be good. Care to come along? I know Beatrice would like some company she didn’t have to perform for.”
Only a careful observer would have noticed the slight hitch in Carwyn’s step. “Wednesday? Can’t.”
“Oh?”
“Meeting with the men in bathrobes on Wednesday night.”
“Oh?” Giovanni chuckled at his friend's pet name for some of the Vatican staff he usually met with if he came to Rome, which wasn’t often.
“Yes, one red bathrobe in particular.”
“A cardinal?”
“A friend.”
Carwyn passed him the ball, but Giovanni stopped it and held it under his foot, waiting for his friend to meet his eye. “What’s going on, Father?”
Carwyn took a deep breath and frowned. “I’m not sure yet. Something... maybe long overdue. I’ll let you know. It’s nothing to be concerned about.” He walked over and placed a hand on Giovanni’s shoulder before he grinned and kicked the ball out from under his foot. “If there’s something to worry about, I’ll tell you. Now, go shag your wife like you were planning before I interrupted you with my arrival.”
“Fine.” He turned toward the door. “You’ll let me know?”
“Of course I will. Go away.”
He walked through the door, calling back, “You’re room is ready for you when you get tired. Don’t damage any of Angela’s plants.”
“Go away!”
When Giovanni walked through his bedroom door, he was greeted by the sight of his wife, naked, sitting in a chair and draped over the cello he kept in the closet of the Rome house.
“You’ve never played this one for me.”
He fastened the series of locks on the door and walked toward her slowly. “No?”
“Nope.” She looked up with hooded eyes. “You should. It would be...” He took a finger, running it down her spine as she curled over the body of the instrument.
“What would it be?”
He heard her heart begin to pulse. “Relaxing.”
“Do you need to be relaxed?” He knelt beside her, placing soft kisses along her side. Her shoulder, the crook of her arm. Her hip. Her knee. His fingers trailed up from her ankle.
“Maybe,” she gasped. “But not just yet.”
His hand gripped her knee as he pulled the instrument from her, propping it against the wall before he lifted her and sat in the chair, letting her naked body straddle him as he sat fully clothed.
“I love you,” she said as his mouth began exploring her skin. He rubbed his lips along the rise of her breasts and let his fangs scrape her delicate collarbones. His fingers trailed down her spine, over her hips and down her thighs.
She gripped his hair hard, but Giovanni remained silent, watching her in the low light as his fingers slowly brought her to release. She gasped his name into the silence of their bedroom before he bent his head and let his fangs pierce her skin, just above the delicate scars on her breast.
“More.” She panted as her back arched and he drew harder on the small wound.
More?
It would never be enough.
He did play for her, hours later as the sun rose in the sky and Beatrice drifted in a haze, awake, but sated and quiet. He could feel her energy level out to a hum that told him she was meditating in the way that allowed her mind to rest, even if her body could not.
Giovanni did not envy her waking days. Even though his recent dreams had plagued him, he still took comfort in the sweet oblivion that rest brought. Though he needed less now that they shared blood, he fervently hoped that sleep would never abandon him completely.
The next evening, Beatrice and Giovanni, Matt and Dez, Carwyn, Ben, and even Angela gathered in the large kitchen of the house. Ben had slept until past noon before wandering out of the house with Dez as they explored the neighborhood and ate copious amounts of gelato. Angela was feeding them another full dinner. Giovanni smiled as he watched her enjoy the humans in the house with normal appetites.
“I can’t believe how much I’m eating,” Dez said, as she shoveled more pasta in her mouth.
“Neither can I.” Beatrice stared at her in amazement.
“Hey.” Dez glared. “I’m growing a human here. What’s your superpower?”
“Speed. Strength. Night vision. Lightning fast reflexes. Water manipulation—”
“Okay, stupid question.”
Ben piped up, “Don’t forget allergy to electronics and sunlight.”
Carwyn looked amused. “How have you managed to remain unbitten, boy?”
“It’s been close a couple times with Tenzin.”
Giovanni examined Dez, knowing that Beatrice worried about her friend. He knew she had been experiencing some morning sickness. “Dez, how are you? Did Angela point you toward a pharmacy? I know you’re not very familiar with the city.”
Dez smiled. “I’m great! And Ben gets around in Italy a lot better than me. We found a drug store the other day that has the stuff I forgot at home. But thanks for that basket in my room, too. That make-up is so nice.”
He waved a hand. “Thank Livia. She has some sort of cosmetics company that makes all those things. She always sends over baskets when she knows I’m bringing guests.
“Well, please tell her I said thank you. B, did you get one, too?”
Beatrice looked up. “Get what?”
“The basket of make-up, perfume, lotions...” Dez rolled her eyes when Beatrice looked back in confusion. “Am I the only girl here? I swear, you and Tenzin are hopeless.”
The priest looked around the house. “Where is she, by the way?”
Beatrice shrugged. “Not here yet. You know Tenzin.”
“Okay,” Giovanni said. “We met with Livia last night and met many vampires. Beatrice, who do you want to know about? Matt, this might be beneficial to you, too.”
She leaned forward. “First off, why isn’t that place humming the way Penglai does?”
Carwyn burst into laughter, but Beatrice shook her head. “Really, it’s so weird! There were at least as many vampires at Livia’s little party last night, but it didn’t have half the energy of a ‘low hum’ day at Penglai.”
Giovanni nodded. “I’m glad you noticed. Did you notice what else is missing from Castello Furio?”
She thought for a minute before her eyes lit up. “Water.”
Dez looked around. “What? She doesn’t have plumbing there? Even the Romans had aqueducts, right?”
Giovanni shook his head. “No, what Beatrice noticed, and I’m glad she did, is that for a water vampire, Livia does not surround herself with her element. It’s an odd quirk for an immortal, because most of us draw strength from our elements. In Penglai, there’s a careful balance of the elements. Many fountains and streams, gardens and rocks, most of the palace complex is open air, they even have torches lit at all times for those of the fire element. The idea being a kind of balanced threat.”
“Ah.” Dez nodded. “Got it. So if everyone has easy access to their element, no one’s going to go crazy and try to take over.”
“Like mutually assured destruction,” Ben said with a full mouth. “I learned about that in school.”
Matt said, “You learned something in school that you didn’t already know?”
“Haha.”
“The point is,” Beatrice continued, “Livia’s place should have all sorts of water around her house, but she doesn’t. And all the vampires in her court seem really weak.”
Carwyn said, “Tenzin would say it’s because most of them drink donated blood and live in such a modern environment. The longer I live, the more I think she may be on to something.”
“If anything,” Beatrice said, “her house would favor earth and wind vampires, with all the open ground and the stone castle.”
“She has a castle?” Ben asked. “Cool.”
“Maybe that’s why Matilda has always seemed so haughty,” Giovanni mused.
“Who’s Matilda?” three voices asked at once.
Carwyn spoke. “Tall. Blond. She’s German. About my age. Very powerful wind vampire. She and Livia hate each other.”
“Too many queen bees.” Dez nodded. “There can be only one.”
Matt snorted. “You watch too much T.V.”
“Okay, so that’s the blonde I noticed,” Beatrice said. “Yeah, she felt strong. Who’s the huge guy? Really tall. Big laugh. He looked African? His energy was strong, too.”
Giovanni nodded. “He is. That’s Bomeni. He’s Ethiopian, but he’s not as old, maybe my age.”
“Who’s his sire?” Beatrice leaned forward with interest. He suspected she was thinking about Geber’s four blood donors. The Ethiopian he had written about was an earth vampire and a female.
“I don’t know. It’s a possibility we should investigate. He
is
an earth vampire from the right part of the world.”
“Okay, so the most powerful vampires I noticed were Matilde, Bomeni, and Emil Conti, who is... water?”
“Yes.”
“And then the weird guy.”
He frowned. “What weird guy?”
“You didn’t notice him?”
Giovanni shook his head. “Notice who?”
“There was this old vampire. He didn’t just feel old—he
looked
it. Scarred face. Maybe North African? He was wearing these long robes. He looked out of place, to be honest. His amnis was weird. Kind of swirling around him, almost visible in some strange way. If I had to guess, I’d say he was a wind vampire, but I’m just guessing. Something about him reminded me of Tenzin.”
Carwyn looked at Giovanni. “That sounds like Ziri.”
“If Ziri was there, how could I have missed him?”
Beatrice looked between them. “Who’s Ziri?”
Carwyn shrugged. “You hear strange stories about Ziri. With his age and power, it’s hard to say what’s true. I know one vampire, who is not an imaginative sort, say that Ziri melted into the air in front of him.”
Giovanni scowled. “Impossible.”
Matt piped up. “Hey, they say that at some point transporter technology may be feasible. We
are
creatures made up of mostly empty space at an atomic level. Maybe Ziri has just taken a leap.”
Giovanni said, “Be that as it may, it sounds like Beatrice saw him last night. He’s the only one that fits her description, and he does visit Rome on occasion.”
“He doesn’t live here?” Ben asked. “In Rome?”
“He doesn’t really live anywhere that I know of,” Giovanni said. “He was probably a nomad in his human life—he’s very old—and couple that with a wind element... He roams.”
“And right now, he’s roaming in Rome.” Ben snorted, looking around when no one laughed. He slumped in his seat. “Tenzin would have laughed.”
They quickly finished their meal and cleaned up the kitchen before they went to the living room for drinks.
“So,” Beatrice asked, “no fire vampires in Livia’s court?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Just me. She doesn’t like them.”
“Just you.”
He shrugged. “Just me.”
Carwyn said, “Oh, she loves Gio, all right.”
Beatrice raised her eyebrows. “Okay, so it’s not just me that was getting the incest vibe. Good to know.”
“She’s not my mother!”
“Still, Sparky.” Carwyn leaned against the fireplace. “You have to admit she’s always been very... affectionate with you.”
“Ew,” Ben said as he sat on the couch and began to nibble at the dish of dry, sugared fruit that Angela set out. “That’s so gross.”
Matt grinned. “You probably wouldn’t say that if you saw her.”
Dez elbowed him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means she’s incredibly beautiful,” Beatrice said. “Really, stunningly beautiful. She looks like she should be a model, or something.”
Giovanni cleared his throat. “Let’s get back to business. Now that Carwyn’s here, we have enough people to start getting some information. Matt, your main job is still going to be security, but Ben is old enough that he can do some, as well.”
“Really?” Ben sat up straighter.
“Yes, Matt will get a firearm for you. Carry it with you when you go out, especially if Dez goes with you. And your knives. Carry those, as well.”
The boy suddenly looked nervous. “Am I going to get in all sorts of trouble if I get caught with them, though?”
“On the slight chance you have to use them, we’ll worry about getting you out of police custody after you’ve defended yourself. Priorities, Benjamin.”
Matt elbowed the boy. “Hey, I’ve got some friends in the police here. Don’t worry about it. Just keep yourself safe and remember: money and amnis erase criminal records.”
Giovanni continued, “Matt will be our day man if we need information or investigation during the day. Our main objective on this trip is identifying Geber’s four vampires, which will mainly be up to Beatrice and me. Chances are that Stephen’s contact is a member of Livia’s court, or a frequent visitor, and since we believe he is one of Geber’s four, finding him is our starting point.”