“We’re not mates.”
“You will be.” Saba turned back to stare at the wall of the examination room. “When you understand what loves means, you will offer him your blood as he has offered his.”
“I know what love is.”
“Not as he does,” Saba said. “Not as I do.”
Makeda said nothing, because Saba was likely correct. She didn’t often think about Lucien’s age. His presence was too immediate to be ancient. If she thought about his age at all, it was to wonder about the things he’d seen, not the emotions he had experienced. She filed it away to think about later.
“I’m going to start now,” Makeda said. “You know this will hurt. Do you need something to… bite down on?” It was the only nonchemical relief Makeda could think of. She’d offer Saba a bottle of araki—the Ethiopian version of moonshine—but she’d seen the woman drink it like water, and it seemed to have no effect.
Saba looked over her shoulder. “Just do it. I heal quickly.”
The needle went in. Makeda hit bone, noting in the back of her mind that Saba’s pelvis was softer than she’d expected. Her stomach churned for a moment, imagining the pain. Saba didn’t flinch.
“These stem cells.” Saba spoke normally even as Makeda withdrew the liquid marrow. “They can rebuild the blood in any immortal?”
“That’s our theory.” Makeda continued to work as Saba spoke. She wasn’t going to rush the procedure even without anesthetic. That would do no one any favors. “That’s what the trial in Ireland will determine.”
“When will you know?”
“It’s not certain.” She released the lip she’d been biting down on and tasted her own blood. “It could be very fast, which is what I suspect, but it could be slow. Slow doesn’t mean it’s not working. Kato’s recovery has taken four years.”
“Because it was with his children’s blood, not his sire’s.” Saba paused. “If anyone asks you if this treatment has been successful, you will lie and tell them it is.”
Makeda froze. “What?”
“This is not only about curing those vampires and humans who are infected by Elixir,” Saba said. “This is about creating confidence in me. So if anyone asks you directly if this cure will work, you will tell them it will.”
“I’m not a liar.”
Makeda withdrew the first needle and immediately moved to store the sample before she grabbed the second needle from the tray.
“You will lie about this.” Saba looked over her shoulder and met Makeda’s eyes directly. “You will do this because my son has asked me to save this world instead of razing it to the ground and starting anew. Do you understand me? If I am offering to put up with the tedium of the human world until this virus is eradicated, then you are going to lie if anyone asks you.”
Makeda’s arguments of academic integrity seemed pitiful when Saba framed the situation. She was correct. Lucien’s plan for Saba’s takeover would only work if vampires were completely and utterly confident in her ability to cure them.
“I’ll lie,” Makeda said. “But what will happen if the cure doesn’t work?”
Saba turned back to staring at the wall. “Make it work, Doctor. The other options would be… distasteful.”
❖
Saba’s marrow donations were secure and already flying to Ireland with a discreet wind vampire who had connections to Saba’s friend, Ziri. Lucien had contacted Brenden McTierney, who was expecting the samples of both marrow and blood by immortal express within the next couple of days.
Once again, Makeda was at loose ends.
Hirut knocked on the tukul door before she popped her head in. “Saba has asked for you to come to the fire,” the gentle vampire said. “Gedeyon and I are serving a meal there while they plan.”
“Thank you.” Makeda wondered if she’d see Hirut again after she left the island. “Hirut?”
“Yes?”
“Do you ever leave here?”
Hirut smiled. “Will you miss me, sister?” She was as tall as Makeda, but her figure had been more generous in life, so her hugs reminded Makeda of her older sister’s and her mother’s. And while Gedeyon was the official caretaker of the islands, it was Hirut’s hospitality and cooking that had made the island feel like home while they’d been there.
“I don’t envy your adventures,” Hirut said. “I do leave here, but I don’t go very far most of the time. Why do you ask?”
“If something happens to me, I would like you to speak to my parents,” Makeda said. “You will be able to understand them. But you’d have to go to the United States to do that. Will you?”
A shadow fell over the other vampire’s eyes, but she nodded. “I can do that.”
“Thank you.”
“But you should not doubt Saba. You will be safe.”
“I don’t doubt Saba,” Makeda said. “But I’m young, and I know nothing about any of this. I need to have a plan in place if I don’t survive. Do you understand?”
“I think I do.” Hirut nodded toward the fire. “You should go to them. They are waiting.”
Makeda walked to the fire and spotted Lucien and Kato sitting on two rock seats, a larger rock between them. It was as flat and smooth as a table. It also hadn’t been there an hour ago.
Saba.
A map was spread on the surface of the rock. Lucien’s gaze cut toward her for a moment before he looked back at Kato and the papers spread in front of them. They were speaking in low voices, and Lucien was jotting down notes.
Leave the healer… we need the soldier.
He did look like a soldier. He looked like a soldier talking with his general, in fact. Kato’s eyes were as sharp as Lucien’s. He scraped a hand over his beard as he thought. He’d nod occasionally at something Lucien said. Then he’d frown. Then he’d offer some quiet comment of his own, and Lucien would nod or frown or jot down more notes.
Makeda must have been staring because Saba walked up behind her and bumped her shoulder with her own.
“They are so handsome when they plan war, are they not?”
“They’re handsome all the time,” Makeda said.
Kato was handsome. Strikingly so, but he was not the one her eyes rested on. Not the face that made her heart beat. That was Lucien.
“They are handsome men,” Saba said. “You made a good choice to take Lucien as a lover, not that looks have anything to do with skill in pleasing a woman. But Lucien has spent time in Arosh’s harem and learned from his lovers. I can hear that he pleases you, which is good. Women should always be pleased, and if they are not, they should make their lover aware of it. It does neither any good to stay silent.”
“Right.” Makeda closed her eyes and tried not to wince. Was this Saba’s version of a maternal talk? Frank talk about sex had never been comfortable for Makeda unless it was in medical terms.
Saba patted her shoulder. “You will become accustomed to me,” she said. “I think you are as shy as my son. Even when he was young, he rarely spoke about the women he coupled with.”
“Some things are private.”
Saba threw her head back and laughed. “Not with ears like ours! Come. Let us join them and plan how we will overthrow this council in Athens. I haven’t gone to war in over a thousand years. This should be interesting.”
They walked toward the fire. Gedeyon and Hirut were spreading out baskets of injera, tibs, and various stews on a low table to one side of the fire. A large plate of avocado and tomatoes was also available, and Makeda wondered who was going to eat all the food. Vampires did have appetites, but hers was small. At least for human food, it was small.
She was officially seven weeks old in vampire terms, and she’d begun to feel a lessening in her hunger the week before. She no longer grabbed for blood the first thing upon waking as long as she’d fed before she slept.
She wondered how much of that was a natural lessening in her appetite and how much was an effect of taking Lucien’s blood nearly every night. She didn’t take much?
??nothing like the quart of human blood she still drank every night—but Lucien’s blood was rich. Like drinking dark chocolate after only having water. Just a little bit satisfied her hunger.
Makeda was also experimenting with drinking preserved blood, blood-wine, and cow’s blood. So far, the cow’s blood was the most distasteful. She actually preferred blood-wine, which she knew was expensive, but Lucien told her not to worry about it. After fresh human blood, blood-wine combined with a small meal of human food had proven to be the most satisfying way to assuage her hunger.
“Thank you,” she said to Hirut when the vampire finally sat with them. Lucien and Kato had left their rock table and joined them at the low table. They sat on the ground, as Saba preferred, and passed blood-wine around the table. Lucien took the place next to her and leaned over to ask for a kiss. Makeda gave it to him, and he brushed a hand over her knee before he turned to ask Gedeyon a question.
Makeda looked around the low table lit by candles and filled with food. She could hear music on the other island; the human families living there were singing and laughing as they finished their evening meal.
The food. The company. A familiar kiss in greeting and the company of friends. It felt familiar and safe. Like home.
A sharp jab of pain in her chest.
Lucien must have sensed something, because he turned from Gedeyon and took her hand. “What is it?”
Makeda shook her head. “This place. It finally feels like home, and I have to leave it.”
He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. “But we’ll return. After we finish in Athens and things settle down. You’ll be more controlled by then too. We can explore more. You can see Lalibela. Visit your grandmother in Sidamo.”
She took a steadying breath. “How can you make it all sound so normal?”
He waved his arm at the table. “Because it is. This is all normal.”
Her face must have showed her skepticism, because he leaned over and put his chin on her shoulder and his arm around her waist.
“You have family, Makeda. You have friends. A home. A job, if you want it. You can have the life you want, yene hiwot, you will just have more time to live it.”
“And you want to live it with me?” She forced her eyes to his and didn’t look away. “This new life I make. You want it to be your life too?”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “I’ve been wandering for a few thousand years,” he said. “It’s probably time to settle down.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t understand you.”
“You will.” He kissed her cheek and reached for the injera. “We have time.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“We approach this as we do any campaign,” Lucien said. “The fundamentals have not changed, but the scale has. There are far more individual rulers in the Mediterranean now than there were even five hundred years ago.”
“What level of fealty are we looking for?” Kato asked. “How much do we need?”
Lucien looked at the map, which covered North Africa, the entire Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and most of the Middle East. Rough outlines of immortal territories were drawn over it—territories that had little to do with modern human borders—along with names. Every single one of those names owed blood loyalty to one of the four elders who would be sitting in Athens if his plan came to fruition.
This would work.
“We model it on Penglai in the East,” Lucien said, “but with fewer economic requirements at the beginning. An acknowledgement of authority and a yearly tribute will be enough.”
Kato said, “I think we add in a tribute of human resources as well. Humans for blood and immortals for arms. None of us have armies of our own anymore.”
“Leave the humans for now,” Lucien said. “We don’t want to provide for them as we travel. They can come later, once you have taken the island. But I agree with soldiers. Everyone knows the four of you could take Athens on your own, but dedicating vampires under their aegis will invest regional leaders in your success and also provide you with leverage. Make sure at least one high-ranking progeny is offered in each group to keep everyone honest.”
Saba said, “I’ll keep them honest.”
“It’s not for your good but for theirs,” Lucien said. “Immortals have taken on the human preference for consensus. If enough regional rulers devote their people to a cause, the risk will be shared and your success will be seen as inevitable.”
Saba leaned back and smiled at Lucien. “Laskaris didn’t know what he would unleash when he roused your anger. You are still an excellent strategist, my son.”
“Don’t underestimate him,” Lucien said. “Laskaris is stronger than he looks. And he’s manipulative of his children. Blood oath them or kill them, Emaye. That is your only option.”
“I’ll avoid killing those under his aegis unless they prove to be threats. But Laskaris deserves no mercy,” Saba said. “He poisons his own people and the humans to gain power that will mean nothing, like a king who salts a field. The blood of his people will be on his hands.”
So be it. He could only dictate so much to his mother. In the end, Saba would do what she wanted.
“As for authority”—Lucien turned his attention back to the map—“let individual rulers settle their own disputes. With as much tension in the region as there is right now, local rulers will probably be relieved. Stability and safe blood supplies will be worth the price, and an Elder Council ruling Athens will give them an avenue for grievances with each other before they’re forced to devote time and resources to armed conflict.”
Saba said, “And it will also give them an avenue to petition if their neighbors are becoming aggressive.”
“Not that many will take it,” Kato said. “We don’t change that much, Saba. None of these leaders will want to appear weak to their neighbors.”
“But most want to appear modern,” Lucien said. “Progressive. Mortals become more averse to violence every century. Leaders who can demonstrate stability and economic prosperity will be able to attract the most talented humans. Talented humans make for rich vampires.”
“So it’s just like human politics,” Makeda finally chimed in. “All about the money?”
Lucien shrugged. “Essentially. We no longer live in the era of god-kings. Humans and vampires worship comfort and prosperity now. Skyscrapers not temples. And no one prospers unless their government provides stability. Saba and the elders will provide that.”
“And you really think you can take over this entire territory,” she asked, pointing to the map, “with little to no fight?”
Saba said, “Yes.”
Kato nodded.
“Conquer most of Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East… just to take over Athens?”
Kato spread his hand over the Mediterranean Sea. “This was all my territory once.” Then he pointed to North Africa. “This was Ziri’s. Saba controlled everything south of the desert.” Then Kato’s hand spread over eastern Europe, the Black Sea, and the Middle East. “And this was only a portion of Arosh’s territory. So you see, we’re really not taking anything that didn’t once belong to us.”
Makeda still looked skeptical. “But won’t they fight?”
“Why would they?” Lucien asked. “All we’re asking is for them to acknowledge the elders’ authority and pay tribute. If anything, this will lessen the responsibilities each of these regional leaders faces. All of them have a blood loyalty to Saba anyway.”
“We move north,” Kato said. “Taking each region as we come upon it. We will need ships. Many ships.”
“Or,” Lucien said, “we could use the plane sitting in Addis that Vecchio loaned us.”
Kato frowned. “Or that.”
Saba asked Lucien, “Who do we approach first?”
“I would suggest Inaya,” Lucien said. “She’s smart and already has a relationship with Ziri along with diplomatic connections to you. She’s seen as one of the most powerful and modern of th
e newest generation of immortal leaders. Plus her control of the Suez Canal gives her an added bonus as an ally. We could waive any tribute from her if anyone joining our alliance could have preferential treatment or lowered tariffs through the canal.”
“We can negotiate that,” Saba said. “She’s not uncooperative.”
Kato frowned. “Money again.”
“Gold has always been the true language of our kind, Uncle. It just takes different forms in this era.”
“Gold is gold.” Kato winked at Makeda. “Jewels are jewels. There is no pleasure in draping a lover in paper.”
Kato managed to get a smile out of Makeda, one of the few Lucien had seen from her that night.
Saba said, “So our first visit will be to Inaya. Ziri is there. We’ll take him with us after Inaya gives us her pledge. This is good.”
Lucien asked, “Where is Arosh?”
“Taking care of something in the Black Sea for me,” Saba said cryptically. “I have already sent word to him.”
“Where will he meet us?”
“Not in Inaya’s territory,” Kato said under his breath. “That’s for sure.”
There was probably a story there, but Lucien didn’t really want to know it.
“Perhaps Anatolia,” Saba said. “There’s no reason for him to come earlier. We don’t need him for negotiations.”
Lucien pursed his lips. “You haven’t told him rampant destruction is out, have you?”
“Let me deal with Arosh,” Saba said. “It’s better if I’m there to distract him when he learns he’ll have to play politics for a few decades.”
❖
Lucien left Saba, Gedeyon, Hirut, and Makeda drinking coffee so he and Kato could take a walk around the island.
“You need to tell me how she is doing,” Lucien said. “And be very blunt. I need to know how much I’ll have to watch her.”
“Makeda is strong and very smart. What she lacks in age, she will quickly gain by determination. She will master her amnis as she has mastered every other area of her short life. In time—especially if the two of you mate properly—she will be a power in our world. And she will be an excellent consort to you.”