The Force of Wind

  He looked up with a snarl and sped naked to the door in the sitting room. She heard it open.

  “Go away,” she heard him say before he slammed it shut.

  Beatrice sat up in the bed, covering herself with the sheet. He walked back in the room and dove into the bed.

  “Who was that?”

  “No one,” he said before he pulled the sheet away.

  “Giovanni!”

  He rolled his eyes and lay back on the bed, pulling her on top of him and running his hands through her hair. “That was your fencing teacher.”

  “Baojia?”

  “Yes.”

  “You slammed the door in Baojia’s face?”

  “Yes.” He obviously didn’t consider this rude or unusual as he began investigating the freckles that dotted her cleavage. “He’s probably standing out in the hall now if you want to tell him something,” he said before his mouth returned to her skin.

  She rolled off of him. He only sat up and tried to pull her into his lap.

  “Sorry, Baojia,” she called loudly, knowing he would be able to hear. “Sorry my… Giovanni is a rude vampire.”

  “Fine.” Beatrice heard his muffled reply from the hall as she hid her face in her hands. “I’ll be in the practice room when you escape his clutches.”

  Giovanni gave a satisfied laugh, but she slapped at his shoulder and pulled away, standing to walk to the bathroom so she could take a shower.

  “What?” he called out, still laughing.

  “You can’t keep me occupied every single hour that Lorenzo is awake. I have things I need to be doing.”

  “Yes,” he said as he lay back on the bed, stretching his legs. “I can think of several right now, in fact.”

  She shook her head and shut the door, only to hear it open as she stepped in the shower.

  “I really need to go practice, love.” She felt him run the ginger-scented soap over her back.

  “Consider this a warm-up,” he said as he ducked under the water.

  Her face was still flushed when she finally made it to the practice room.

  “Sorry,” she said when she spotted Baojia in the corner of the room.

  “No need to apologize. We practice on your schedule.” He stood and handed her the practice dao, which had become her favored weapon for practice. She hadn’t switched to the full-weight weapon yet. Soon. The thin steel blade curved wickedly in the lamplight, and she began her regular warm up routine, spinning and thrusting in the style Baojia had taught her.

  He made quiet corrections to her form before he grabbed his own weapon and began demonstrating a new series of maneuvers. He rarely spoke, and the vampire’s near silent instruction became a kind of meditation, focusing her mind as her muscles memorized the intricate steps.

  They practiced almost silently for another hour before she spoke again.

  “He’d prefer it if I never left our quarters after dark.”

  Baojia gave a quiet chuckle. “I can’t blame him for that.”

  “No, really, he doesn’t like me being out when Lorenzo might be around.”

  “Are you sure that’s his only motivation?” he teased quietly.

  “Haha. Men.”

  Baojia laughed again. “Like I said, I can’t blame him for that.”

  He came to a halt and she followed his lead, standing at relaxed attention and mirroring his stance. “Were you my woman, Beatrice”—his eyes darted down to her mouth—“I would hardly let you leave the room.” He grabbed her dao, brushing a finger against her wrist as he took it from her suddenly limp hands. “For safety’s sake, of course.”

  He walked calmly over to the wall of weapons, placing both sabers back in their cradles before he looked over his shoulder with a smile.

  “Safety’s sake.” She gulped. “Right.”

  He caught her eye and tossed a jian in her direction. Her arm reached out instinctively and caught it.

  “Switch weapons.”

  Beatrice straddled Giovanni’s lap in the large tub, working a lather up as she shampooed his hair. He just watched her, smiling as his blinks became longer.

  “You better not fall asleep in here, old man.” She laughed. “There’s no way I could carry you to the bed.”

  “Well, at least you know I couldn’t drown.”

  She smiled and pinched his shoulder to rouse him. He sat up and put his hands on her back, warming them to soothe her sore muscles as he laid his head against her shoulder.

  “Thanks, Gio.”

  “Your back feels tense. Good practice? And did you have dinner with your father this afternoon? I forgot to ask.”

  “Yep. He hates the food here, too.”

  Giovanni chuckled. “Just because there’s no hot sauce.”

  “You can take the girl out of Texas…”

  He laughed against her neck as she poured the water over his hair, rinsing the soap out and soaking them both.

  “I’m still amazed that he can stay awake so well.”

  Beatrice shrugged. “It must be Tenzin’s blood.”

  “It must be. It’s no wonder his amnis seemed so strange when I first met him.”

  She pulled back. “You never told me that.”

  “I didn’t know what to make of it,” he murmured. “It seemed different, but I couldn’t pinpoint how. It makes sense now.”

  “Why?” She stood and reached for one of the towels, handing the other to him when he followed her.

  “I would have guessed that he was much older. Easily my own age, but perhaps even more.”

  “Wow.”

  “It was definitely odd. And the fact that he can stay awake for most of the day now, it’s extraordinary. My sire could stay awake except for a few hours in the middle of the day, but he was over two thousand years old.”

  She frowned as she patted her hair dry. “So my dad is the equivalent of a two thousand year old vampire?”

  “Well.” Giovanni shrugged. “His energy feels that way. He doesn’t have the life experience, memory, or skills, of course.”

  “Still… wow.”

  “Yes.” He rubbed the towel across his shoulders before he grabbed Beatrice’s, hanging both on a hook by the door. “It’s quite a strength.”

  “I’ll say.” She grabbed a brush to comb out her hair, but Giovanni picked her up and took her to the bed, tossing her in the middle with a playful grin. He grabbed the brush and settled behind her, kissing her shoulder as he let the heat build on his skin to warm them both in the cold bedroom.

  “Gio?”

  “Sì, Tesoro?”

  She leaned back and pulled his warm arms around her. “I feel like this is the calm before the storm.”

  He took a deep breath and rested his chin on her shoulder.

  “I do, too.”

  “Stupid, stubborn vampire jerk,” she muttered under her breath, stabbing the air in the dark garden.

  “Focus. You’re not going to hurt him, but by all means, visualize that if it improves your focus. Plus, it’s just sort of amusing.”

  Baojia’s droll voice drifted across the lawn as she whirled and stabbed the air, focusing on a spot in front of her that had a stubborn, five hundred year old man floating in it.

  “Stupid, overprotective…” She thrust into a tall camellia bush that was beginning to bud with white blossoms.

  “Please don’t kill the shrubbery, my dear. The Elders might get annoyed and not let us practice out here again.”

  Normally, any kind of sparring was disallowed on the palace grounds, but Elder Zhang had overheard Beatrice whining about feeling cooped up one night and generously offered the gardens for her to practice, promising he would smooth any ruffled feathers in the court as long as she and Baojia were careful.

  Beatrice had been overjoyed she would be able to escape the confines of Tenzin’s quarters.

  Giovanni had not.

  “Stupid, overbearing—”

  “Beatrice, if you hack that scholar’s stone, I will disarm you! Foc
us.”

  She shook her head and brought her mind back. The fight with Giovanni could wait. He had certainly stormed off in a huff, smoke pouring from his collar as he stalked back to the library, ostensibly to help Stephen translate more of some Greek manual for Elder Lu’s monks to examine.

  The two scholars were sending letters back and forth to the mysterious monastery that no one knew the location of except for the Eight Immortals. Stephen had visited, but had been blindfolded for the journey. Not even the highest-ranking administrators knew the secret site of the protected library where the book was being kept.

  Nor did anyone know where Elder Lan had gone. No word had reached Mount Penglai about the strange immortal’s whereabouts, so the whole palace was in a kind of holding pattern. Tension blanketed the grounds, affecting everyone.

  Especially Beatrice.

  Her martial arts were improving exponentially, mostly because practicing was all she could do. She had progressed in her weapons training to the point that Baojia had moved her from dull weapons to sharp and was practicing more aggressively with her. The strange chemistry Beatrice sensed from her teacher had not dissipated in the tense atmosphere, which only added to the overall stress she was feeling. Even the weight of his stare was starting to bother her.

  “Again.” Baojia’s blade slapped hers and she backed away. “Try that combination again, only this time, try not thinking about your boyfriend.”

  “Shut up!”

  He snarled at her, getting in her face when she glared at him. “Do not order me around, little girl. Do you think I care about your hurt feelings? You wanted to learn from me, so pay attention.”

  She didn’t back down, stepping closer as she tossed her blade to the ground. “I’m done. Go bite something, Baojia.”

  He grabbed her arm and spun her around when she tried to walk away. “You want me to bite something? I’ll tell you—”

  “Well, isn’t this interesting.” Beatrice stiffened when she heard the mocking voice. “Whatever would my Papà say if he saw this little scene?”

  She turned slowly to see Lorenzo sitting on a bench nearby, surrounded by guards.

  “Beatrice,” Baojia warned quietly. “He’s baiting you. Ignore him.”

  “Gio wouldn’t say anything to you, you slimy little bastard.” She spit at the blond vampire. “Leave me alone. Or were you going to try to grab me again? Not so brave when you don’t have others doing your dirty work, are you?”

  Lorenzo’s blue eyes narrowed, and a smile flicked at the corner of his lips. In the blink of an eye, he stood before her, leaning down and hissing before Baojia could pull her behind him. Her bodyguard pressed her into his back, standing his ground as the palace guards intervened and stepped between the two water vampires. They pushed Lorenzo back and Beatrice heard a low snarl come from Baojia’s chest.

  “Back away, Lorenzo.” She heard him say. “I have orders to protect this one, and I don’t care who your patron is. I will happily end you if you interfere with my assignment.”

  “Everyone is in love with the little human.” Lorenzo laughed. “It’s all so amusing. Such a precious little girl. I do hope she wanders in my direction soon.”

  “I very much doubt that will happen,” Baojia said as Beatrice slumped against his back, suddenly exhausted and wishing she could run away. Despite her fear, she didn’t want to show any weakness in front of her old antagonist, so she straightened up and stepped out from her protector’s shadow.

  “Run along, Lorenzo,” she called. “No one wants to play with you today.”

  “I’ll just have to see if I can change your mind,” he said with a wink and a smile before he jumped across the stream and strolled back to the opposite side of the palace gardens.

  They both watched him until he was out of sight. Baojia finally turned to her.

  “Don’t be brave. Bravado will get you killed.”

  Beatrice only shrugged and turned to walk back to Tenzin’s. “So will fear.”

  He caught up with her. “I request that you do not make my job more difficult for me, Beatrice De Novo.”

  “Afraid of my grandfather’s wrath if I get hurt?”

  “Of course I am. I’m not an idiot. Also…”

  “What?” She stopped and turned to him, suddenly desperate to know why he watched her the way he did. It had become more than just the obvious male appreciation she was used to. His dark eyes searched her face.

  “I find you… worthwhile. For a human.”

  She snorted. “Worthwhile?”

  He frowned. “I would find it very unpleasant if anything were to happen to you, B.”

  Beatrice had no idea what to say to him, and her heart was racing in her chest. Baojia looked as if he was on the edge of saying something else, so she turned abruptly and retreated to her room.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mount Penglai, China

  October 2010

  Stephen and Giovanni paged through the books in Tenzin’s library, looking for any further connections between Geber’s research in the elixir manuscript and existing alchemic practices in the far East. They had been looking for any precedent for the attempt to stabilize vampire blood for human consumption, but had found none.

  “Did you see this?”

  Stephen handed Giovanni a book. “It was written in the eighteenth century, comparing Aristotle’s theory of aether and the traditional fifth element in Indian alchemy. A contact mentioned it years ago and told me it might be worth looking into. This is the first copy I’ve found. Might be relevant.”

  “I hadn’t seen it, thank you.” Something caught Giovanni’s attention. “What contact?”

  Stephen shrugged. “Someone in Rome.”

  Giovanni frowned, but continued working.

  The two vampires had come to an uneasy truce in the time they had spent together in the library, and Giovanni was forced to acknowledge that Beatrice’s father cared for her deeply, even though he had left her for so many years. Stephen De Novo was as open and honest as Giovanni could expect, and he found himself looking forward to seeing the man more with each passing day.

  In addition to his deep love for Beatrice, Giovanni could also see how much Stephen cared for Tenzin, though he still could not classify their relationship. Since it was Tenzin, he accepted that he probably never would. Whatever had drawn his old friend to Stephen, they seemed to care for each other, and Stephen had grown immeasurably more powerful as a result. His already keen mind had been sharpened, and the vampire seemed to have a photographic memory for detail. Giovanni wondered if he was seeing a preview of how Beatrice’s fascinating mind would develop after she had turned.

  If she had to turn. He still held out some hope that the elixir might negate her need to give up her mortal life, though they still disagreed on the subject. He knew, far better than she did, the sacrifices that vampire life called for, and he would spare her if he could.

  “Giovanni, have you given any more thought to why Lorenzo might want this?”

  He looked up from his book. “What? The elixir?”

  “Yes.”

  He took a slow breath. “Money is the most obvious answer. If this was made viable and could be marketed in the health industry, he could become tremendously wealthy. And since your daughter stole the majority of his fortune, I’m sure that is attractive.”

  “I still can’t believe she did that.”

  Giovanni smirked. “I can.”

  “And she still has it?”

  He shrugged. “We don’t talk about it all that much. She’s a very canny investor, and I know she and Caspar cleaned it through mostly legitimate channels, so she’s extremely rich now. I believe they invented a wealthy uncle of some sort.” He looked up with a wry smile. “Congratulations, you have a dead brother.”

  Stephen laughed. “She gets that from my father, I think—that deviousness. My father would have been an excellent con man if he hadn’t been such a good Catholic.”

  “She talks about him
occasionally. I know they were very close.”

  A wistful smile crossed Stephen’s face. “I deeply regret not being there at the end of his life. I hate that Mom and B had to deal with that alone.”

  Giovanni paused, thinking about all the friends he had lost through the centuries. “That is the way of the world, De Novo. People die. Their loved ones continue on.”

  “But my daughter won’t die, will she?”

  He looked up, meeting Stephen’s brown eyes. They hadn’t changed when he was sired. They looked exactly like Beatrice’s.

  “No, she won’t.”

  “Would you stay with her? If she had wanted to remain human?”

  His heart gave a quick beat. “I would have stayed with her as long as she would have allowed me.”

  Giovanni saw Stephen nod. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

  They continued working together and Giovanni could hear Beatrice arguing with Baojia down the hall in the practice room. She stormed outside, but he also heard Baojia follow her. He forced himself to remain in his seat, knowing she was well-protected on the palace grounds, even if Lorenzo was lurking. They had argued more than once about what she perceived as his “hovering.”

  “There could be another reason that we’re not seeing.”

  He turned at Stephen’s soft voice. “What? For why Lorenzo wants the elixir?”

  “Yes.”

  “There’s much we don’t know, so his motivations could be endless.”

  “I still think there is something we’re not seeing about the effects. I agree with Tenzin.”

  Giovanni leaned back in his chair. “I’m also curious how he thinks he might produce it. He would need reliable immortal blood donors, and he can only create water vampires, so he must have some plan for that.”

  “And he would need a lab to create the elixir once the formula was decoded. It wouldn’t be easy. My contact in Rome—”

  “Who is this contact you mention?” Giovanni had noted it before, but now, he went on alert.

  Stephen only shook his head. “I don’t know, to be completely honest. It’s someone that found me years ago when I was still running from Lorenzo. There was a note in my hotel room in Warsaw when I came back from the National Archives. It just said, ‘I’m here to help.’ I was terrified at first, thinking that someone had found me and would reveal me to Lorenzo, but he always seemed to step in at exactly the right time to help. Since then, he has left me information at hotels, or sent it to my address in Brasilia. Tips about research. Clues leading me to Geber’s other work. It was all… rather friendly, to be honest. I came to think of him as a friend, even though I really didn’t have any way to contact him. I haven’t received anything since I’ve been here. The last communication was the mention of Elder Zhang’s name.”