“He seemed almost gleeful at the prospect. I admit, I didn’t mention names or specifics, but he’s not an idiot. He knows who you and Ben are. It’s probable he has an alternative plan to get the gold from you. Be careful.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Tenzin and a partner had been used for a fishing expedition. It was a solid strategy: have two hired immortals take all the risk, then swoop in and steal the prize when victory was inevitable. She’d used that scheme more than once herself.
Of course, it never worked out very well for anyone who tried using it on Tenzin.
“I’ll be careful,” she said.
“So why are you calling?” Giovanni’s voice became clipped. Impatient. “I know it’s not to say hello.”
“I did say hello though, didn’t I?”
“You did. Your phone manners are improving.”
“Thank you. I think Chloe is a good influence.”
Giovanni asked, “Is this about Ben?”
“Maybe.” Tenzin swung herself back and forth in the hammock. “Where is his grandmother?”
“It’s the Rios family home, a semirural place near Río Grande, which is near El Yunque National Forest. Her parents lived there and her granddaughter works at the park.”
“That’s Ben’s cousin?”
“Yes. His father’s sister’s daughter.”
“But the sister is dead?”
“Car accident. The grandmother and the cousin are all that’s left of the family.”
And the father, but they didn’t talk about him.
“Is Ben asking?” Giovanni asked.
“No.”
“So you’re interfering?”
“None of your business,” Tenzin said.
“He’s my son. He is my business.”
Tenzin didn’t say anything. What could she say? They’d gone through this before. They’d go through it again.
“Are we going to fight about this, my boy?” Tenzin asked.
“I wish…”
Tenzin let the hammock fall still. “What?”
“Decide what you want from him, Tenzin. This indecision isn’t like you.”
No, it wasn’t.
Then again, for the first time in many, many years, Tenzin was unsure of what she wanted.
Ben sipped a rum cocktail and watched the ocean as the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean. The villa he’d rented in Quebradillas sat on the hillside with the ocean stretched out before it. Hard waves crashed as the tide came in, and he could see surfers riding in the distance. The ocean glowed deep blue, purple, and orange as the sky changed from one vivid hue to another.
The house was a Mediterranean style painted white and trimmed in bright blue. High walls blocked it from the road, and spacious balconies captured the warmth of the sun. Unlike the narrow, sheltered house in San Juan, it was not vampire friendly. Long windows channeled the sea breeze through the house, keeping it cool and bright through the day. Only the back rooms would be sheltered for Tenzin.
Which was fine. If he had to dig through caves looking for pirate treasure, Tenzin could suffer through a breezy, sunlit, oceanfront house.
He took a deep breath and another sip of rum as the sun slipped below the horizon. He’d spent the day gathering supplies in the village and meeting their contact for the house. The bottle of local rum had been a welcome gift he was happy to mix with lime and orange juice from the trees on the patio.
Sun. Rum. And an ocean view?
Okay, maybe his abuela didn’t have it all wrong. Puerto Rico was feeling pretty much like a paradise that night.
He had an appointment with Inés, the sister of the cacique, the next evening. Hopefully Tenzin would make it by then. If not, Ben would be going on his own. Since his introduction came via Novia, he didn’t need Tenzin to be there. In fact, they’d both decided to downplay her presence unless someone asked.
Everyone in the vampire world knew Ben and Tenzin worked together. Ben was more than happy to let everyone assume this job was for a customer of his or his uncle’s, not one of Tenzin’s own wild schemes.
He let the warm breeze wash over his skin. He’d sat in the sun for most of the afternoon in nothing but a pair of khaki shorts. His skin was noticeably browner. His hair was tangled. He’d trimmed his beard short before they arrived, and his curly hair was pulled back in a short ponytail at the base of his neck.
Ben glanced at his reflection in the mirror and smiled a little. He looked like a beach bum. Yeah, he could get used to that.
He made himself another drink and turned the music down so he could hear the surf crashing. Then he lay on a chaise on the patio and drifted to sleep.
Hours later, she woke him by lifting his arm so she could settle underneath it.
“You smell like sun.”
The corner of his mouth tilted up. “Gio says that sometimes. What does the sun smell like?”
She turned her face into his chest and inhaled deeply. Ben could feel her lips against his chest. His heart pounded, but by silent agreement, they both ignored it.
“Salt and a little sweat,” she said. “Limes and sugar.”
“Our rental agent gave us a bottle of rum.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like rum.”
“Good. More for me.”
She glanced up at him. “You’re feeling very satisfied right now, aren’t you?”
I could be more satisfied.
“Yes,” Ben said. “Beautiful house. Beautiful island. A bottle of rum all to myself.”
“And gold.” Tenzin grinned up at him, her fangs like twin daggers in her mouth.
Was it wrong for Ben to find that adorable? There was probably something wrong with him. Whatever. He squeezed his arm around her shoulders. “Yes, and gold. How could I forget the gold?”
“I looked through your notes from the old man and the priest’s letters. You’re right. I think Brother Tomás is the key. And if you’re right about what his letters are insinuating, we have the one thing we didn’t have before to start this hunt.”
Ben said, “We have a starting point.”
“Exactly.” She tapped her finger along the inside of his wrist. “Do you think it’ll be all in Spanish coin, or do you think there’ll be some bullion?”
“From what I read about Enríquez’s career, it’s likely to be a combination of lots of things. He stole mostly from the British. There might be more silver than gold.”
“That would be disappointing.”
“But still profitable.”
“But not gold.”
“Don’t worry.” He patted her shoulder. “I’m sure there will be gold.”
“There better be.” She snuggled down next to him. “What self-respecting pirate doesn’t have boxes of gold sitting around? Cheng has dozens of them.”
“Dozens of boxes of gold?”
“Yes.”
Ben shook his head. “Suddenly your relationship with that pirate makes so much more sense.”
“I do like gold,” she whispered. “But he’s also—”
Ben clamped a hand over her mouth. “I don’t want to know.”
She peeled it away. “I was going to say a useful ally.”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess he would be.” Ben closed his eyes and focused on the waves.
Tenzin said, “You’ve turned cross.”
“I’m out of rum.”
“So get more rum.”
He curled his lip. “I’d have to move.”
Tenzin sighed and sat up. “Fine.”
He cracked an eye open. “What?”
“I’ll make you a drink.” She stood and reached for his glass. “Don’t get used to this.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“What is the drink? Just rum?”
“One orange and one lime, both juiced. Then a shot of rum and a little bit of soda.”
She scrunched up her face. “That does sound good.”
“It’s excellent.”
“Except for
the rum.”
“The rum is the point!”
“Relax.” She patted his head. “I’ll make you one. And then we’ll talk about Inés.”
Ben sighed. “Great. Just what I wanted to do before bed, talk about vampires who’ll probably end up trying to kill us in the next couple of weeks.”
“Don’t be a pessimist,” Tenzin said. “She might just try to steal from us.”
“Excellent point. I don’t know why I was feeling so down.”
“You’ve got to stop being so negative, Benjamin.” Tenzin walked into the kitchen. “It’s not good for your health.”
9
They drove over narrow mountain roads the next night, Tenzin sitting uncomfortably in the passenger’s seat. They’d decided to keep things as low-key as possible. Ben was driving. Ben was talking. Tenzin would only speak if she had to, and she was going to downplay her role to that of babysitter. It wouldn’t benefit them for anyone in Puerto Rico to get too curious.
The Jeep crossed a makeshift bridge, and they lurched to the left.
Tenzin gripped the frame with both hands. “Are you sure you know how to drive this?”
“There’s no secret, Tiny. I can drive it.”
“Fine.” She muttered under her breath, “Four.”
Ben couldn’t help but smile. “Is that the number of exits you can currently see in the car?”
“Maybe.”
“Oh ye of little faith.” He reached across and patted her head. “I’ll get us there.”
“In the mountains. In the dark.” She curled her lip. “I hate cars.”
“You hate being confined.”
“This is true.”
They drove past the ruins of a green-and-white house that was half buried by a mudslide, past the roar of a distant waterfall, and down into a small dip in the hills where the town of Lares lit up the night with scattered points of light. Anytime they slowed, the sound of generators could be heard in the distance.
Through the town and back into the hills, Ben drove, looking for the signs he’d been given—a road cutting between two hills, marked with a bright yellow sign and a single name: Valeria.
“You passed it.” It was the first thing Tenzin had said in miles.
“I saw it, I saw it.” He pulled over to the side of the road, grateful for the three-quarters-full moon. The foliage was dense, thick bamboo and trees lining the sides of the road. He waited, but no one was coming toward them.
Ben turned around and took the road hidden by the trees. It climbed swiftly, twisting back between folded hills and exposed rock formations. They dipped down into a small valley, crossing a flowing stream before they went up and dirt gave way to cobblestones.
“Do you see it?” Tenzin asked.
“I see lights.”
“It’s beautiful.” She leaned out of the Jeep. “Very beautiful.”
It was unusual for anything to strike Tenzin as beautiful. She had seen a lot and wasn’t usually impressed. The fact that the home of Los Tres impressed her made Ben even more curious.
She was just about to climb out of the window when Ben grabbed the back of her shirt. “Uh-uh.”
“I want to fly up and—”
“Another time,” he said. “For now we go up to the front door and knock.”
She crossed her arms and slumped in her seat. “You’re no fun.”
“I know. Tonight I’m all business.”
“Boo.”
“Which will hopefully let us look for your gold a little faster.”
She smiled. “Yay.”
“So no spying before we actually meet the VICs.”
A guard waved Ben toward a dark parking area. He swung left and fitted the Jeep between a Jaguar and a lifted pickup truck with more chrome than anyone needed.
“Remember,” he said quietly, conscious that the guard was likely immortal. “Let me talk for now.”
“Got it.”
“And no violence unless we absolutely, positively cannot avoid it.”
“Got it.”
Ben narrowed his eyes at her accommodating tone of voice. “Did you bring any weapons?”
She smiled. “Not that they’ll be able to find.”
She opened her doors and exited the vehicle before Ben could say another word.
Dammit, Tenzin!
Ben left the car and walked toward the flashlight that had guided them to their parking spot. Tenzin fell into step beside him.
“Señor Vecchio?” a voice asked.
Ben answered in English, keen to mark himself as an American. And a guest. “I’m Ben Vecchio. I have an appointment with Inés at eleven o’clock.”
The flashlight turned to Tenzin, and the voice switched to English. “Does she know you have a guest?”
“This is my partner. We always travel together. I expect Inés knows that.”
“Very well.” The guard’s clipped accent said Spain, not Puerto Rico. “Follow me, please.”
They followed the guard up a curved staircase of intricately patterned tile and white stucco. They reached the top only to find another level with a fire pit and a wide balcony overlooking the hills. Their guard nodded to another standing near the fire where humans and vampires laughed and passed a bottle of red wine.
Or blood-wine. It could have been either.
They walked up another staircase. Then another. Ben was glad he hadn’t been slacking off on his morning runs. There was nothing worse than panting when you met immortals. It immediately made him feel like prey.
At the top of the stairs was nothing less than a mansion. White stucco and mirrored glass protruded from the side of a mountain, surrounded by palms and banana trees. Flowerbeds and fountains surrounded the property. The main house was flanked by several outbuildings and smaller houses, most of which were built into the hill they’d just walked up. The architecture nestled into the verdant hill, both foreign and organic.
Ben and Tenzin walked through the front gates and into a party-like atmosphere with twinkling lights, music, and the smell of food and fire. Humans and vampires mingled, but Ben paid no attention to the curious stares. He followed their guard through the interior garden and past two wide wooden doors carved with what Ben recognized as traditional Taíno iconography.
The doors opened, and the delicate strains of a cello poured out of the house. A four-story open-air entryway dominated the space. Though windows were plentiful in the front of the house, the back of the structure was made entirely of glass.
Ben glanced at Tenzin to see her reaction. The small vampire’s face had lit up. This house was made for wind vampires. Ben could see several floating on the far side of the room, perched in alcoves that overlooked a sunken living room where the music played.
The back windows exposed the carved face of the mountain where ferns and lush greenery fell down a sheer cliff and a waterfall dropped into a sunken pool.
The pool was occupied by more partygoers. Torches lined the pathways, and a stone bridge crossed from the back of the house, over the pool, and led into the heart of the mountain.
“There,” Ben murmured.
“I see it.”
Their guard led them past the music in the living room and to the left. An open-plan kitchen dominated that side of the house. A chef in a white coat barked orders at several sous chefs who were plating food before putting it on trays carried by uniformed servers.
Behind the kitchen was a formal dining room separate from the rest of the house. The guard motioned them to one end of the dining room where two place settings faced another one on the opposite end of the long dining table.
The guard left them, closing the door and cutting off the noise from the rest of the house.
Ben turned to Tenzin. “Should I be worried that they led the human into the dining room?”
Tenzin smiled. “Judging from all the humans out there having a good time, I think you’re safe.”
“This is an amazing house.”
“It was designed
for vampires.”
“Even with all that glass? I was thinking about that. There’ll be no shelter at all during the day.”
“I imagine many spend the day within the mountain. And there are rooms built below us. There will be underground rivers in this area too.”
“There are.” A door opened and an elegant immortal woman wearing a flowing yellow dress stepped into the dining room.
A tall man with sandy-brown hair and a neat beard followed her. The man was a vampire and carried himself with a distinct military bearing. The woman was gracious, but her eyes saw everything.
She walked toward them and held out her hand. “I am Inés, sister of the cacique. Welcome to Hacienda Valeria. My companion is Vasco; he is the nitayno of this island.”
Ben and Tenzin stood. “Thank you both for your welcome.” Ben had heard the word nitayno before. Who had said it? Novia. She said a nitayno was something like a general.
“His general is Spanish. A water vampire by the name of Vasco. He’s a bit friendlier than most of that group.”
Vasco didn’t appear very friendly, but both he and Inés shook hands with them, which surprised Ben. Many older vampires preferred not to allow contact with vampires they didn’t know.
“Let’s move all this, shall we?” Inés motioned to the place settings as Vasco stationed himself near the door. “They set this for a formal dinner, but there is no need for it. Have you eaten this evening?”
“We’d be honored to join you for a meal,” Ben said before Tenzin could say they’d eaten at sundown.
“Very well.” She clapped her hands, and two human servants entered the room. She directed them to move the place settings together and bring in the meal.
“I thought we’d have fish,” Inés said. “I eat light meals when we have a party here.”
So she could drink blood at her leisure.
“Of course,” Ben said. “Fish sounds wonderful.”
The vampire was short but regal. Her skin was the color of iron-rich earth, and Ben had the distinct feeling that soil was the place from where she drew her elemental strength too. Her hair was long, straight, and very black. Inés appeared to be in her midthirties, but her dark eyes and manner told Ben she was far, far older. She had high cheekbones and a wide, generous mouth. Ben wouldn’t call her beautiful, but her looks were arresting and he had trouble looking away.
Blood Apprentice: An Elemental Legacy Novel Page 8