Who was with him?
How had he gotten here?
Don’t do this, Tenzin.
His hand went to his throat. It was sore, but it wasn’t bleeding. In a rush of memory, he felt her mouth sucking his neck. The blind hunger of their kiss. Blood pouring out of him and into her. Her breast in his greedy palm. The soft angle of her body cradling his cock and his hand gripping her hair.
His body reacted to the memory and he sat up in a rush, only to feel his head swimming and his stomach roll.
Ben groaned and lowered his head into his hands.
Where am I?
A dog barked somewhere in the distance, and Ben looked around the room. It looked like a bungalow or cottage. A single room with a bed in the corner, a kitchen near the front door, and a couch where he was lying with a light blanket thrown over him. Public service announcements hung on one wall. Antilittering slogans in Spanish. A large map of the island with red and yellow highlights.
A screen door slammed again, and Ben heard the sound of a dog. Panting, it ran around the corner and slid across the old wood floor, coming to a tongue-lolling halt with its head near Ben’s crotch.
“Hey. Whoa.” He diverted the canine’s head from his lap and gave his ears a friendly scratch. “Hi, there.”
Footsteps came around the corner, and Ben looked up to see a young woman in a uniform walking toward him.
“Hi.” She smiled a little. “Oso was barking, so I thought you might be awake.”
Ben blinked. The woman was wearing a light green shirt and brown uniform pants made of canvas. A badge hung on her pocket, which was covered with an official-looking gold emblem. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun, and two simple gold hoops hung in her ears.
She looked familiar. Very familiar.
Damn you, Tenzin.
Ben didn’t know how Tenzin had gotten them out of the cavern or why she’d left him alone, but for some reason she’d decided to be a pain in the ass even in her absence. She had to have known. It was impossible that it was a coincidence.
“I’m Liza Ochoa Rios.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m a ranger at the park here. How are you feeling?”
Ben sat at the table, drinking café con leche across from his cousin, who didn’t know she was his cousin. Her dog sat next to her, a giant mutt of indeterminate heritage who lived up to his name. He was dark brown and had a goofy smile. He looked far more like a small bear than an island dog.
“I found you lying on the side of the road. I’m not sure how long you’d been out there. Is that your Jeep over by the trailhead?”
“Maybe?”
“You know, I don’t have any interest in making trouble for you, but the park isn’t officially open yet. We’re still doing a lot of cleanup on the roads and infrastructure. You’re not supposed to be here. It’s not safe.”
Ben shook his head. “Sorry.” His voice was hoarse. “I must have gotten some bad information. I didn’t realize.”
“So that is your Jeep?”
He nodded and tried not to stare at her. He’d seen pictures taken from a distance, but up close she looked so much more like their grandmother than he’d realized.
“Do you remember how you got on the trail?” Liza asked. “I nearly ran over you.”
“I don’t…” He took a sip of coffee. “I don’t remember much. I know I have a rental house in Arecibo.”
“You go out partying with anyone?”
“Not that I can remember. And I don’t do drugs if that’s what you’re wondering. I was going hiking with a friend, but she can be… kind of flaky. We had a fight. Kind of.”
Where are you, Tiny? When this is over, I’m gonna kill you.
“Huh.” Liza didn’t look like she believed him. “And those marks on your neck?”
Ben put a hand over the marks in question. He tried to act surprised, but he didn’t know if he pulled it off or not. The memory of Tenzin’s mouth was too vivid.
“No idea,” he said. “An animal bite maybe?”
“Don’t know any animals with a bite like that.”
“I wish I knew,” he said. “But I really can’t remember much.”
He remembered everything.
Everything.
It was near dark outside, and the sun was covered by clouds. Rain poured down on the tin roof of the cabin.
“The roads are a mess right now,” Liza said. “This storm came up really suddenly. You’ve barely woken up, and you still look kind of pale. We’ll have to hike to your Jeep, so I’d really rather you stay here for a while. You could probably make it back to Arecibo tonight, but it might be close with the mud. I’d hate for you to get stuck and end up on your own out in the forest.”
It was tempting to flee, but Ben also had to admit he was burning with curiosity about his cousin.
“I’ll stay. I can sleep in your truck or something,” he said. “If you’re not comfortable with my sleeping on the couch.”
Liza smiled a little. “I’m not worried about you. I already searched you for weapons, and you don’t have any. Besides, Oso stays in the house at night, and no one messes with me as long as he’s around.”
Ben didn’t doubt it. For all his friendly licks, the dog hadn’t left her side the entire time Ben had been awake.
“I appreciate it. Thanks.”
“What’s your name? You didn’t have any ID on you.”
“Sorry. It’s Ben. Ben… Vecchio.”
“Nice to meet you, Ben. The kitchen is pretty basic here, but I made enough dinner for both of us. Hope you like asopao.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I love it.”
“So how do you like being a park ranger?” Ben was digging into the bowl of chicken stew with chorizo and rice. It was exactly as he remembered it from when his abuela made it.
“I love it.” Liza smiled. “Right now it’s complicated. We have a lot of work just cleaning up, and the power grid—” As if on cue, the lights flickered out. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ve been able to tell it’s still a mess. But I don’t need much, and my real house has solar panels, which are great.”
The lights flickered on again.
“You have a generator here?” Ben asked.
“We’re only supposed to use it for emergencies. Other than that, lanterns and candles.”
“You must love it on the island,” Ben said. “To stay with all the problems. Were you born here?”
“I was, but I went back and forth between here, Florida, and New York growing up. Did my degree in Florida, then came back here.”
“You were here during the hurricane?”
She nodded. “Yeah. On the other side of the island though. I’m only in Camuy for a short-term assignment. I live near El Yunque. You know—?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I know where El Yunque is.” I know where your house is. I know how much your bills are and how many eggs your chickens are laying right now.
Better to not tell her that.
“For a while I thought about leaving. Our house was okay—we only had like one leak in the roof, which was insanely lucky—but our garden was just…” She made a sweeping gesture. “Everything was gone. Only the trees left, and they were stripped bare. But my grandmother wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
Ben tried to keep his voice even. “Your grandmother?”
“Yes. She loves it here.” Liza smiled. “The most beautiful island in the world. That’s what she calls PR. Hit by a hurricane or not. She’d never live anywhere else.” She glanced at him. “You have family on the island? You look—”
“I’m Italian,” he said quickly. “New York.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “No offense, but you don’t sound too New York.”
He smiled. “I went to high school in LA. But I’m living back in New York now.”
“Everyone’s gotta go home eventually, right?” She took another bite. “And if you’re my grandmother, you never leave home. Not if you can help it. My mom and my uncle went away, and I think it just about killed her.
”
Ben’s heart jumped. “But they’re back now?”
Liza smiled sadly. “My mom came back before she passed. My uncle didn’t. He lives up in your neighborhood.”
You have no idea how right you are.
“My mom and I lived in New York on and off over the years. I never liked it much. Too cold in the winter.”
“So you’re back. Your grandma must love that.”
“Yeah. And she takes good care of me. She’s an amazing cook. And we have a great neighborhood. Everyone looks out for each other.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Yeah.” Liza nodded. “It might not be the richest island out there, but that’s one thing we definitely have. We take care of each other. Take care of our neighbors.”
Ben finished his dinner. “Well, you definitely took care of me. And I’m really grateful.”
“No problem.” She frowned at the red marks on his neck. “I just wish we knew what kind of animal might have done that. Those bruises are so strange.”
Ben swallowed the lump in his throat. “It’s a mystery.”
“No kidding.”
Tenzin, Tenzin, Tenzin. You have some explaining to do.
Ben didn’t feel like sleeping so soon after waking up, so Liza put on the television while he cleaned the kitchen. He washed and dried the dishes, put them away on the open shelves of the small cabin, then walked outside to get some fresh air.
He looked up into the misty, pitch-black night. A light rain was still falling, but that wouldn’t bother her. Was she back at the cavern? Back at the house in Arecibo? San Juan? Already headed back to New York?
No, she wouldn’t leave. She’d still be focused on the treasure. She’d left him on someone else’s doorstep and kept hunting for her precious gold.
For the twenty-sixth time that year, Ben asked himself what he was doing with his life.
He and Liza were watching a local news show out of Arecibo when someone knocked at the door. Ben went on immediate alert, as did Oso.
Liza stood and hit the remote control to mute the TV. “That’s weird. It’s late.”
“Let me answer it,” Ben said.
Liza patted her hip and Oso came to her. She smiled. “You really think it’s an ax murderer or something? This is Camuy, not New York. It’s probably someone lost in the forest like you. A car stuck in the mud. You never know.”
Ben knew she was right, but he still stood and followed her around the corner, hanging back while she answered the door.
“Buenas noches, necesitas ayuda, Señor?”
“Hi.” A familiar voice in a careful American accent came from outside. “I’m hoping you might know something about my nephew. My name is Giovanni Vecchio.”
Giovanni took the towel Liza handed him and rubbed it over his soaking-wet hair. “Thank you so much.”
Ben’s adoptive uncle was a vampire turned during the height of the Florentine renaissance, chosen by a madman to be the ideal of human achievement physically, intellectually, and supernaturally. He was a fire vampire with the looks of a supermodel and the brains of a rocket scientist, and Ben expected women—all women—to react to him.
The fact that it was his cousin this time did make it a little weird.
Liza’s cheeks were flushed. “You’re welcome. It’s nothing. I’m just glad you showed up. I mean, I’m glad Ben isn’t all alone out there.”
Ben stared at Giovanni. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“It was a last-minute thing.” Giovanni glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “She called me.”
“Did she?”
Liza looked between them, halfway between confused and amused. “Your friend?” she asked. “The flaky one?”
“Flaky.” Giovanni nodded. “That’s definitely one word for her.”
“I’m not going to lie,” Liza said. “I don’t think too much of people who leave their friends alone in the middle of the forest. I think your… Sorry, did you say your nephew?”
“Yes,” Giovanni said.
“You look more like brothers.”
Well, that was flattering. Ben smiled. “We get that a lot. It’s an unusual family.”
“Huh.” Liza looked skeptical again. “Well, Ben is better off with you here than a flaky friend.”
“Indeed.” Giovanni took the cup of coffee Liza poured for him. “Though she did drop me off by the Jeep. So we have that. It’s how I got here.”
“No problem with mud?” Liza asked.
“Nothing I couldn’t handle. I was checking anywhere that looked promising along the road on the way back to town. Was going to go to the park headquarters in the morning if I couldn’t find any sign of this guy.” Giovanni leaned across and slapped Ben’s shoulder. “He’s the worst about not charging his cell phone.”
“You have to be careful out here. It’s a small island, but there are still a lot of wild places.”
“Luckily, the roads are in good shape. A few obstacles now and then. You just have to go slow.”
“Good.” Liza clapped her hands together and looked at Ben. “So you can sleep in your own bed tonight. That will be a relief. This couch isn’t all that comfortable. It should only take an hour or so to get back to Arecibo.”
Ben knew it was better for him to go, but he was unaccountably annoyed with his uncle for showing up and interrupting his time with his cousin. It was possible he’d never see her again.
“Yeah.” Ben glanced at Giovanni. “That’ll be great.”
“But please,” Liza said, “finish your coffee before you go. Have you eaten tonight? I have some chicken stew left if you’d like some.”
Giovanni looked at Ben, then Liza. “That would be amazing. Thank you.”
They spent an hour visiting after that, Giovanni teasing out more and more details about Liza’s life and her family. Ben sat in awe of the charm offensive. He didn’t know if he was more grateful or annoyed that his uncle was flirting so shamelessly with his cousin. It was a harmless flirt, but still.
Giovanni got her to talk about her work in El Yunque and the progress reopening the park after Hurricane Maria. He got her to talk about the farm and tell funny stories about her grandmother. He also got her talking about some of the folk tales in the Camuy region.
“You’re a folklore researcher?” Liza asked. “That’s amazing. Do you work for a university? Something like that?”
“I do lecture sometimes,” Giovanni said. “But I’m hired mostly for private research. To be honest, it pays better.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He leaned toward her. “So what about the Camuy Caves, huh? Any dark and mysterious tales around here? Ghost stories? Mythical creatures?”
“Well, you know the pirate beach in Puerto Hermina, right? There are lots of stories around that.”
“But nothing around here?” Ben asked. “Nothing unique to the mountains?”
“Well…” Liza cocked her head. “Actually, there’s the demon of Camuy. But that’s an old, old story. Some people say it goes back to the Taíno.”
“What’s that one?” Giovanni said. “The oldest stories are always the best.”
“I think it’s just one of those things to keep kids in at night, you know?” Liza laughed. “Don’t go into the hills at night or the demon of Camuy will drag you into the caves and drink your blood. That kind of thing.”
“Huh.” Ben said, pasting on a smile. “Kind of like the chupacabra in Northern Mexico?” He glanced at Giovanni, who was wearing a similarly mild expression.
“Exactly like that. We have the same myth here.” Liza looked at Giovanni. “I mean, don’t most cultures have stories like that to keep children from wandering at night?”
“Of course.” Giovanni spread his hands. “And in a place like Camuy, with so many caverns—so many of which have water in them—it would be prudent to keep children from wandering into the unknown. A story about a demon who drinks your blood would do the trick.”
&nb
sp; “Oh, I don’t know if it would have scared me off as a kid,” Ben said. “Who believes stuff like that?”
“Always a cynic, huh?” Liza asked. “Even as a child?”
“Always.”
Giovanni stifled a smile. “You were a reckless child, Benjamin. Especially when there was something particular you wanted.”
“You have to go after what you want,” Ben said. “Even if there are risks.”
“If I didn’t know better”—Liza rose and took Giovanni’s bowl and spoon—“I’d say the Camuy cave demon got your neck. I sure as heck don’t know what else could make those marks.”
Shut up, Giovanni mouthed at Ben when Liza’s back was turned. Just shut up.
“Whatever it was,” Giovanni said, “he was lucky you were around to pick him up.”
“Just doing my job.”
“And now we should go. We’ve inconvenienced you long enough, and I’m sure you’d like to get some sleep.”
Ben and Giovanni rose. Ben scratched Oso behind the ears and walked over to Eliza. He gave her a hug. “Thanks. Seriously, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled at him and shook Giovanni’s hand. “Be more careful, okay? And if you’re ever in El Yunque, stop by the visitors’ center and ask for me. I’ll be back next week, and I’d be happy to show you around a park that’s actually open, okay? Just stay out of this one until it’s safer.”
“Got it.”
Ben and Giovanni gathered the dirty coveralls Liza had hung in the shed and waved as they climbed in the Jeep. It was ten minutes later, bumping down the road north to Arecibo, when Ben finally asked the question that had been burning in his gut since Giovanni arrived.
“Okay, where the hell is she, and why the fuck did she leave me alone and unconscious in the forest?”
17
Giovanni didn’t answer right away. He drove the Jeep down the road for another half mile or so before he pulled over in a less muddy patch and got out of the car. Ben automatically hopped out and walked around the front to take over driving. His uncle was a fire vampire. Expecting a modern car to not short out when he drove it was asking for disappointment.
Blood Apprentice: An Elemental Legacy Novel Page 16