Dawn Caravan

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “Clever.”

  He listened for the sound of fireworks, but he heard none.

  The cabinet was like a small wall safe. Contained inside were stacks of gold coins, a silver dagger as long as his hand, a stack of old documents and—nestled in the far back—a worn silk purse no bigger than an aluminum can.

  He reached for it and felt the weight of gemstone against his fingers. Ben opened the purse and let a carved gemstone goblet slide into his palm.

  The sight rendered him stupid for a solid minute.

  The artifact was incredibly beautiful. The sides were polished and carved with writing he couldn’t place. Not Arabic. Farsi maybe? It was small, no bigger than a demitasse glass, but made of pure gemstone the color of sunlight.

  Ben grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket, placed it over the inscribed base of the goblet, then looked for any powders or pencils he could… There! An eye shadow. He tapped the tip of his finger against the dark powder before he rubbed it delicately over the writing.

  He didn’t need to know everything it said, but he wanted to show it to Tenzin. She’d be able to identify the writing and the age.

  He examined the goblet from bottom to lip, wishing he had the convenience of a mobile phone to snap pictures.

  Dammit, being a vampire was so irritating sometimes.

  He heard voices in the distance and put the goblet back, placing it in the exact position he’d found it in the first place. He carefully closed the panel and the drawer. He stood and put the vanity bench where it had been.

  Then he backed out of the living area and crept toward the door, looking for something he could use to hide his scent. Most vampires, whether they could get drunk or not, kept a bar in their living area.

  Kezia was no different. Ben saw the nearly full bottle of premium vodka on the edge of the bar. No, not smelly enough.

  There! So much better. A half-full bottle of peppermint schnapps would hide his scent nicely. He unscrewed the top and tipped it over, making sure the splash landed in the middle of the rug he’d stepped on.

  The scent of alcohol and peppermint was overwhelming. Nearly gagging, Ben left the trailer, making no attempt to reset the tripwire. She was going to know someone had been in her stuff; he just didn’t want her to immediately identify him.

  He passed two other camping caravans before he ran into his first person.

  “René.” Ben smiled, grateful the vampire had become his unwitting accomplice. “How are you?”

  Ben’s friendly demeanor immediately set René on edge.

  He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you ask?”

  Ben stuffed his hands in his pockets, hiding the paper with the inscription. “Being polite, old man. Chatting the chat. Working the room.”

  René curled his lip. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  Ben tried to look sad. “And that’s why you’re always going to struggle with multilevel marketing.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Never mind,” Ben said. “Do you know where Tenzin is?”

  “Yes.” The smugness was back. “I just left her caravan.”

  Ben patted his shoulder. “How nice for you.”

  Leaving René to try to unscramble his friendliness, Ben walked to Tenzin’s trailer and knocked on the door. She yanked it open from the inside and pulled him in.

  She narrowed her eyes and twitched her nose.

  “Tenzin, what—?”

  “Shhhh.” She rose to smell along his chin and his neck. Then she spun him around and sniffed his back. “Good.”

  “What the hell was that?”

  “You covered your scent with peppermint. I thought you were trying to hide something.”

  “Hide what?”

  She landed and walked to the table. “Nothing.”

  “Clearly not nothing.” Ben followed her. “Tell me—”

  “You were searching Kezia’s trailer. It was entirely possible she could have interrupted you. Then you would have had to lie about why you were there and possibly offered to have sex with her.”

  Ben blinked. “That seems like a leap.”

  “Not really. She wants to have sex with you—with both of us really—”

  “Yeah. You said.”

  “If she’d caught you searching her trailer, that would be the most obvious ploy to cover what you were actually doing.”

  Dear Lord, she had an active imagination. “So you thought I was going to get caught and I was going to have sex with Kezia just to cover my tracks?”

  “It’s possible.” She didn’t even look embarrassed.

  “So you were sniffing me because…?”

  Her voice was barely audible. “Because I do not want you having sex with Kezia.”

  Oh, this was nice. “We’re not together. I can still smell René in this trailer.” He put his hands in his pockets and strolled toward her. “Do I need to sniff you?”

  “Not necessary.”

  “Maybe it is.” He leaned down, put his face in the crook of her neck, and inhaled deeply, trying not to groan.

  Tenzin smelled like dust and sunset and cardamom tea. She smelled like sexual desire and a little bit of kerosene.

  “Were you polishing swords today while I was sleeping?” he whispered.

  “Yes.”

  Ben opened his mouth and let his fangs slowly scrape against her skin. Her flesh prickled underneath his mouth. “Why don’t you want me to have sex with Kezia? We haven’t been together in over two years. Are you jealous?”

  “I am… territorial.”

  “Because you’ve taken my blood?”

  “No, because you’ve taken mine.”

  His mouth hovered over the silk skin where he’d bitten her two years before. He remembered the exact place. The exact taste. The instinct to sink his teeth into her neck and take her inside was overwhelming. He bathed in the scent of her skin, her blood, and her desire.

  Ben let his breath wash over her, moving it down her body to touch every exposed inch. “I’m not the only vampire to ever take your blood.”

  “No.”

  “You had a mate once.”

  Tenzin froze and her amnis retreated in a blink. She raised a hand and pushed Ben firmly away. The blank expression on her face unnerved him.

  You are a shitty person. His conscience screamed at him, and he stepped away. Why had he said it? Why had he even brought it up? Because she’s not the jealous one; you are.

  Yep. That was it.

  Ben stood up straight. “Tenzin, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought him up.”

  She was quiet for a long time, staring into space. She didn’t seem upset; more pensive. “Stephen and I…”

  He was such a dick. “It’s fine. It’s none of my business.”

  She frowned. “Yes, it is.”

  Ben didn’t know what to say.

  “If you had a blood-bound mate in your past, I would consider it my business to know about that person,” Tenzin said. “To know why you were no longer bound.”

  “I already know he died. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  Tenzin looked at Ben with a frown. “It wasn’t what you are thinking. Stephen and I cared for each other, but it was a strategic mating. A political marriage, if you want to think of it that way. I didn’t love him the way that Beatrice and Giovanni love. Not the way…”

  Not the way what?

  He shut up since he’d already made an ass of himself enough for one night. “I’m glad the two of you cared for each other. I’m sorry he died.”

  “I’d been sleeping.” Her voice was soft. “For a long time I’d been sleeping. Stephen woke me up.” She smiled. “And he made me laugh.”

  “That’s good.”

  She kept her eyes on him, and Ben sat in the feeling he sometimes experienced in the silent space between waking and dreaming when he saw Tenzin’s image in his mind. Her expression moved from one second to the next between very young and inde
scribably ancient.

  He sat with the knowledge that tempted and terrified him about forging something new and untested with her. If you know her, you will know everything.

  29

  Since Ben had run out of time after searching Kezia’s trailer, he followed Vano the next night. Ben chatted with Tatyana as they strolled through the camp. They talked, and he subtly steered her from one place to the next, always keeping his eyes on Vano.

  “Where did you grow up?” she asked him.

  “I thought you said I was famous.”

  Tatyana shrugged. “You’re mildly famous now. No one really talks about your human years.”

  “Really?” He watched Vano lift a Poshani child onto his back as he chatted with three burly men around a small fire. “I’m kind of bummed about that. I tried really hard to make a reputation for myself when I was human.”

  “Why?” She sounded horrified.

  “For business. It’s not easy being the human partner of a famous vampire.”

  “You mean Tenzin?” Tatyana shrugged. “I don’t know that I would call her famous.”

  “Infamous?”

  Tatyana smirked. “Feared. Admired a little. But mostly feared.”

  “Is it the military stuff in the past or the assassin thing?”

  Tatyana’s eyes went wide. “Military stuff?”

  Ben’s eyes followed Vanu as he walked among the humans in the Poshani camp. “Don’t worry about the military stuff. She’s retired now. So it’s the assassin thing. I get that, but I know her. She’d never take a job to kill someone who was an innocent.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. She has a thing about powerless people.” He glanced at Tatyana. “Besides, what vampires do you know who are innocent?”

  “Me of course.” She offered him half a smile. “You would not count yourself?”

  “Innocent?” Ben thought about the man in Rome. About a thief in Shanghai who’d done nothing but get caught up with the wrong people. He thought about the hundreds of innocent bystanders he’d probably left in his wake, never wondering how they fared in the chaos he and Tenzin routinely left behind. “I’m far from innocent,” he said. “In fact, I might be the guiltiest one here. At least other vampires are honest about being monsters.”

  Tatyana rolled her eyes. “Self-pity is so boring. You’ve been given riches, eternal life, a powerful sire, and a fierce mate who obviously loves you very much. Why on earth are you complaining? Think about the choices you have.”

  Ben was watching Vano shake hands with two men with long beards and furtive expressions. They were wary, watching for errant eyes.

  He hardly registered speaking. “I didn’t choose this.”

  “What?”

  Ben looked down and realized he’d said it out loud. Shit.

  No denying it now. “I actually didn’t choose to be a vampire. I was dying and Tenzin took me to my sire, but I never chose to become a vampire.”

  Tatyana didn’t look shocked. “So you lost one choice and gained a thousand others. I didn’t choose this life either; that is the nature of the world. We make the best of it, Ben Vecchio.”

  Ben focused on Tatyana after Vano disappeared into one of the men’s camper van. “You didn’t choose this?”

  “No.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Since you told me the truth, I will tell you. I was working for someone dangerous. I didn’t know they were dangerous at the time of course; I was only a bookkeeper. Such a boring job, right?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I found something unusual that ended up being a big deal.” Her expression was bitter. “My sire changed me to keep her secret. So I would have to be loyal to her.”

  “Where is your sire now?”

  “Dead.” Tatyana’s expression cleared. “Oleg killed her, but I helped.” Then Tatyana gave Ben the first true smile he’d seen from her. “That feels very good to say.”

  “That you helped to kill your sire?”

  “Yes. She was a horrible person, and I’m glad she’s dead.” Tatyana took a deep, cleansing breath. “Yes, that feels very good.”

  “Glad I could help.”

  She looked around at their surroundings. “And I’m glad I could help give you cover while you followed Vano. Do you want to tell me why you’ve been watching him?”

  “Not really.”

  “Okay.”

  Ben stayed watching for Vano long after Tatyana abandoned him. He waited by the fire until Tenzin joined him to get an update.

  “Have you broken into his caravan yet?”

  “I don’t even know which one is his.” Ben scanned the ring of more traditional Poshani homes. “Kezia’s was fairly obvious, but I can’t pin this guy down.”

  “He sleeps in a modern camper.” Tenzin nodded toward a sleek grey caravan on the far end of the guest caravans. “You haven’t seen him coming in and out of that one?”

  “I’ve seen him near it.”

  Tenzin held her hands out near the fire. “That’s his.”

  Ben examined the trailer. “He’s a little different than his brother and sister.”

  “Vano is the practical one.” Tenzin turned her hands to warm them. “He doesn’t have clubs; he owns factories. He owns a caravan company as a matter of fact. And two rather large horse ranches, but that is traditional. I believe Radu has horses as well.”

  “How else is Vano practical?” Ben found himself leaning closer to her.

  “He spends more time with the humans.” She spoke very softly. “Have you noticed that?”

  “Yeah, I really did. Who are the Poshani who travel with us?”

  “The darigan?” Tenzin glanced around at the ring of campers, trailers, and trucks that surrounded the central vampire camp. “They are humans of Radu’s clan, charged with protecting the vampire guests and moving the caravan during the day. You have one driving you around every day when you’re sleeping, just beyond that reinforced wall.”

  “I knew that.” He frowned. “I don’t actually know who it is though.”

  “Your driver? It could be any of them.” Tenzin waved a hand. “They don’t care. You’re cargo to them. Rich, precious cargo they’ll protect with their life, but cargo. The Poshani only care about their own.”

  “Mercenary.”

  “Practical.” Tenzin looked up at him. “Traditional human society has rejected their extended family over and over. Humans have taken their children, burned their camps, and treated them horribly. Why would they care about anyone who doesn’t belong to them?”

  Ben’s vampire vision pierced the darkness, but he could detect no humans still wandering on the edges of the camp. The only humans awake were the ones currently serving the vampire guests. “I guess I can see your point.”

  “The Eastern Poshani are Radu’s people. He was born to them, and he’ll choose a successor from among their ranks.”

  “As long as we find the goblet for him.” Ben let out a long breath. “Are you sure René doesn’t have this thing and all his confiding in you was a big ruse to misdirect us?”

  “He has no motivation to steal it,” Tenzin said. “There is no gain for him. I think Vano has it.”

  “Why?

  “He’s the sneakiest, and I think he hates Radu. René thinks Vano is the strongest, but he’s not.”

  “No?

  “Strong and sneaky are not the same thing,” Tenzin said. “René might think they are, but he is wrong.”

  For the hundredth time, Ben wondered whether Tenzin and René had slept together. There was clearly chemistry between the two, and René quite obviously was fascinated with Tenzin. “Okay, I know this probably is none of my business, but did you and René—?”

  “No.” Tenzin looked at him. “And why do you keep saying that my sexual partners—or possible sexual partners—are none of your business? They clearly are.”

  “Are they?”

  She huffed out a breath and turned to him. “Are you deciding if we can be tog
ether?”

  Ben crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what I’m doing with you most of the time.”

  Tenzin stared at him for a few long moments; then she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the nearest trailer, which was her own. She opened the door, pushed him inside, and followed him, shutting the door behind her.

  Ben stood silently, waiting for her to speak.

  “After I took you to Zhang, you sent me away.” She turned and faced him. “You said you were ‘done’—whatever that means—and that you weren’t going back to New York and you weren’t going to wait for me. But I said I would wait for you. And I have.” She spread her arms wide. “So what do you want, Benjamin?”

  You!

  No, that wasn’t it.

  Okay, it was. But admitting that felt like defeat.

  She asked, “Do you want me to wait longer?”

  “No.”

  “Very well.” She stood in front of him. “I dislike having to explain myself, but I am trying to… grow.”

  “New Year’s resolutions?”

  “Yes. I am here.” She stood perfectly still. “This is your choice.”

  He didn’t know what to say. He knew it was his choice. He knew she was giving him time. He just didn’t know how to bridge the gap he felt between them. “Tenzin—”

  “And to answer your persistent question, my sexual partners are your business because I assume you are feeling as territorial as I am. If you had sex with someone else right now when I am near, I would likely kill that person.”

  Yes!

  Wait. No. That wasn’t good.

  He rubbed his temple. “That’s not okay.”

  She stepped closer, and Ben felt the ripple of her power against his skin like a caress.

  Tenzin spoke deliberately. “I am evolving, Benjamin, but I will never be human. I will never be tame, and it’s long past time you admitted to yourself that you never will be either.”

  She left him in the trailer, staring at her empty bed.

  Ben tried to keep his mind off Tenzin by keeping track of Vano the rest of the night, following him at a distance as he visited vampires, chatted with the cooks making dinner, and hovered around the bar where servers mixed drinks and carried wine.