He snorted. “You say the sweetest things.”
Ben flew off toward the twinkling torchlights in the distance.
Time to act human again.
There was only one group of humans near enough to the forest that Ben felt like he could infiltrate and blend in. They were around his age, dressed similarly in dark pants and ordinary T-shirts. A few wore vests or light jackets over their shirts, but that wasn’t a huge difference. Most had hair falling around their shoulders or pulled back in a knot and wore various lengths of beards. They looked like your average Eastern European hipsters.
The only problem? They were all speaking Poshani.
Since he was not a language expert who could pick up a foreign language in ten minutes, Ben waited until they began to walk back to the camp.
He trailed behind them, disguising the sound of his steps by directing the air around him, a highly useful tip Tai had taught him the year before. He stayed close enough that an observer would think him part of the group, but far enough away to keep the men from noticing him.
Once he entered the circle of travel trailers, he let out a breath. He quickly found a line of drying clothing and slipped on a vest; then he found a cap hanging on a hook at the end of a trailer. He pulled it down over his eyes, then walked to a solitary campfire burning in a cut-off barrel, using that vantage point to survey the camp.
Busy, busy, busy. If he wanted to get into the center of the trailers where Tatyana probably was, he needed to find an errand to run or a job to do.
He spotted the shovel and rake within minutes.
Okay, gross, but at least no one was likely to get too close.
When you had as many horses around the camp as the Poshani liked to have, you also had more than a little horse manure. Ben grabbed the shovel and rake, trying not to gag at the pungent scent of horse shit and piss. Sometimes being a newly turned vampire was a good thing. More than one of his immortal acquaintances had remarked that Ben still “walked like a human.” He didn’t know what that meant, but he was hoping they weren’t just bullshitting him.
He began walking through the alleys between the rings of caravans, working his way, bit by bit, into the center.
No one gave him a glance.
Where had he always found Tatyana? She was usually near the humans cooking, seeming to prefer the company of humans rather than vampires. He scooped a few piles of manure along the edges of the inner circle until he spotted her.
“Vecchio!”
He tensed until he heard the accent. Ben turned and saw René walking toward him.
The man stopped a few yards away, seeming to examine a flower arrangement that had been erected near a music stage. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“We got your note,” he murmured. “It told us nothing.”
“It told you enough. Everything is in place. Come to the camp tomorrow night an hour before midnight. Meet me by the same birch tree where I left the gold.”
“You’re not the one in charge,” he said. “What did Radu say about me and Tenzin?”
“Nothing. People come and people go. Vampires here don’t ask questions.”
“And Vano?”
“Playing his part. His people were the last to arrive today.”
“Kezia?”
“Her people showed up the same day I returned to camp. They’re coming from closer range.”
“So all the Poshani are here now?”
“Yes.”
Ben moved to another pile of manure. “And you have the goblets?”
“I have access to them,” he said, strolling past Ben. “I have my own interests, Vecchio. Tenzin would do well to remember that.” He curled his lip slightly. “Merde.”
“Literally.” Ben flipped a piece of manure toward René. It landed perilously close to a handmade leather shoe. “Oops.”
“Tomorrow,” he said. “Eleven o’clock. Birch tree. That’s all you need to know. Now get out of here before someone sees you.” René walked off, leaving Ben with the shovel and the rake.
He set them behind a portable toilet, then strolled through the outer ring of the camp, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Maneuvering closer to the kitchen area, he stopped to wash his hands before picking up a few chairs and moving them to where a man was pointing and shouting.
By the time he’d gotten close enough to Tatyana, he knew he was pushing his luck. He had to be close to an hour. The last thing the plan needed was Tenzin roaring in like a hurricane.
Tatyana was standing near the humans again, listening to them chatter as she sipped a glass of wine and observed the clutches of Poshani vampires and visitors in the most inner circle.
“Tatyana.” He said her name barely over his breath, but she looked up.
“Ben Vecchio.” She glanced around and walked toward him. “I am surprised to see you here, where you definitely should not be.”
“Did Radu make my excuses for me?”
“He told us nothing. Only that you and Tenzin had chosen to leave the caravan. Is everything well with your family?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if Radu knows what’s going on.” He spotted Vano speaking to some of his guards. “Stay away from Vano. He’s dangerous.”
“You tell me things I already know.” She raised an eyebrow. “That man makes my skin crawl.”
“Tomorrow night,” he said, lowering his voice, “anything you can’t live without, keep it with you. If you need to run, be light.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you know?”
“Enough to know that something is coming and it could be violent.”
Her blue eyes went wide. “This is the Dawn Caravan. Radu would never—”
“Radu would not,” Ben said. “Others might.”
She didn’t say anything more, but she nodded.
“I like you,” Ben said. “Take care.”
“You smell like her now.” The corner of Tatyana’s mouth turned up. “Did you resolve your dispute?”
“You’re very observant,” Ben said. “You know that, right?”
Her smile fell. “That’s what got me into trouble.”
“Good luck.” Ben tipped the edge of his cap toward her and sauntered slowly toward the edge of the camp again. He picked up a few more chairs and moved a few buckets, trying to keep from any appearance of haste.
He got to the edge of the clearing and walked straight into the trees. He heard a shout behind him, probably from a perimeter guard, but within seconds he was in the air, darting through the tree canopy as he and Tenzin had the night before, and in minutes he heard nothing but the wind.
37
Ben and Tenzin flew to the edge of the forest moments before they were to meet René the next night. Tenzin landed in a clearing and waited for Ben to land beside her. She looked to her right and watched him descend, her feeling of satisfaction immense.
He was beside her now, her blood in his veins, and his amnis knew hers. His light would never fade; it would grow and change like a jewel gaining facets with friction. His love for her was simple now, a seedling barely taking root.
What she felt for him?
The love I hold has lasted as I have. It lives in my blood.
She lived in Ben and he lived in her, joining the lives of those she had loved before. He existed with Nima, Stephen, and her children, residing among the names she’d chosen to forget and those she couldn’t bear to speak.
He watched her watching him. “What?”
“This is right.”
Ben frowned. “The job?”
“No. I mean, probably the job is right. I think our plan is solid, and if it isn’t, we can always fly away and lie about what happened. I was talking about us.”
He gave her half a smile. “Agreed. Not about the lying thing though.”
“It’s a minor lie.” She lowered her voice and fell into step beside him. “René said he had access to the goblets?”
“Yes.”
“You know what that means
.”
Ben said, “He’s planning on us doing the dirty work.”
“That would be my guess.” She stubbed her toe on a tree root and had to remind herself why she wasn’t flying.
Act human. What a ridiculous idea.
“We should stay together,” she said. “He will attempt to separate us.”
“Agreed. We stay together and we go after Vano and Radu’s goblets. Let him get Kezia’s.”
“Yes.”
She saw René in the distance, a flicker of movement in the shadow of the trees. He stepped forward when they approached. “You’re late.”
“No, we’re not.” Ben looked at the moon. “The festival hasn’t started yet. Tell us where the goblets are.”
René wasn’t wearing black; he was wearing an elaborate costume that consisted of leather pants, a brocade vest, and a mustard-yellow cravat. On another man, it would have looked ridiculous. René DuPont was handsome enough to carry it off.
“You’re wearing party clothes,” she said.
“That would be because I am going to a party.” He looked at them. “You look like you’re going to a funeral.”
“We all enjoy different kinds of parties, René.” She walked past him and into the clearing, trying very hard to think about gravity.
Ben slipped his arm around her shoulders and sped up her pace. “Nope. You’re walking like a zombie, not a human. Just act natural.”
Ben had a rhythm to his walk, a moderate swagger that she suspected came from being tall and sexually proficient.
“What kind of zombie did I look like?”
“The old, slow kind.”
“That’s not good.” She leaned into him and followed his gait. “Is he behind us?”
“Yes. You don’t really enjoy going to funerals, do you?”
“It depends on who died.” She spied a group of Poshani watching them, but they were involved in a conversation that captured their attention before they could stare for too long.
René caught up to them. “Tenzin and I will go to Vano’s trailer. Ben, you can go to Kezia’s since you’ve already been there.”
Ben frowned. “But Kezia—”
“No,” Tenzin said. “Ben and I will take Vano’s caravan; you take Kezia’s.”
“I do not agree.” There was tension in René’s voice. “Vano’s trailer—”
“I’m sure has the bigger store of gold,” Tenzin said. “Which we will leave for you. Trust me when I say there will be ample time for you to collect your prize once we have all three goblets.”
René said, “I thought you were only hired to find Radu’s goblet?”
“That was before,” Tenzin said. “If we have all three, then we are in a far better bargaining position.”
“And what are we bargaining for?” René muttered. “If you drag me into your—”
“Don’t worry; it’ll be great.” Tenzin felt like skipping. This was going to be so much fun. “I think it’s time for Vano to retire, don’t you? And we’re going to choose his successor.”
The camp had completely transformed for the festival. Music rang through the air, and the scent of food, flowers, and incense was everywhere. Ben saw reproductions of the Sara-la-Kali icon painted on banners and re-created in flower petals. Small statues of the saint decorated each caravan they passed, surrounded by peacock feathers and jars of honey. On each trailer or wagon, a sword hung over the front door, its hilt wrapped in a black scarf.
“So many flowers.” Tenzin, despite the danger of the job, looked delighted.
Ben had to admit it was hard not to get caught up in the festivities.
Flowers were tucked everywhere. Cut and displayed in vases and glasses near the steps of each door. Hanging in baskets from roofs. Woven into crowns the Poshani women wore on their elaborately braided hair.
There were red strings tied on the corners of every caravan, some with small notes attached, some hanging in elaborate knots with paper flowers attached.
The bustling camp had turned into a crowded festival, and as soon as they entered the outer ring of trailers, not a single person took note of them. There were too many activities to distract them.
In the center of the camp, a giant bonfire had been lit and young men were taking turns leaping through the edges of the flames. Every attendee, human and vampire, trained their eyes on the spectacle, and loud encouragement and cheers rose every time another young man attempted a leap.
René guided them through the inner ring of vampire caravans. There were new trailers and buses, but Ben spotted Vano’s sleek vehicle from across the clearing.
“We’re not going for stealth,” Tenzin said quietly. “It won’t matter in the end. Everyone will know that we stole them.”
René looked like he wanted to hit something. “Which is why you and I should—”
“Nope.” Ben cut him off. “Tenzin’s been planning this one for days. Just go with it, René.”
Tenzin paused and looked up at René with wide eyes. “Do you think I would cheat you out of Vano’s gold after you saved my life?”
René was unimpressed. “You mean after you trapped me in your trailer during the day and then used me to create a shelter from the daylight after your enemies tried to kill you? Yes.”
“I’m very grateful.”
“Clearly. If you’re so grateful—”
“Ben and I will take Vano’s trailer. You clearly know how to access Kezia’s goblet since you have the rubbing. We will get the goblets—”
“Do you think I am an idiot?” René was fuming.
“—and only the goblets.” She made an X over her heart. “I promise.” Tenzin took Ben’s hand. “Meet us near the kitchen wagon when you’re done.”
Without another word, Tenzin dragged Ben toward Vano’s trailer, leaving René glaring behind them.
Ben let himself look over his shoulder. Just once.
René looked murderous.
He turned back to Tenzin. “I love how you work.”
“I know.”
They walked with purpose, which Ben had discovered over the years was the key to getting pretty much any place you wanted to go.
He spotted Vano’s trailer in the distance, along with two Hazar guards near the entrance. “Ideas?”
“We don’t want to attract that much attention.” She nudged him. “Air.”
Without another word, she took to the sky and dissolved into darkness. Ben stepped behind a trailer and called the air, lifting himself to the top of the caravan where Tenzin was waiting. He felt simultaneously hidden and exposed. The humans couldn’t see them from below, but there were dozens of air vampires flying over the camp, jumping from one roof to another, laughing and visiting as the music grew louder and the dancing more rowdy.
“Just stay here for a moment,” Tenzin said.
“Limited time.”
“I know.” She nodded. “Trust me.”
In a matter of moments, Ben knew what she’d been waiting for. There was a show below, a fire juggler of some kind, and the man touched off a rocket that shot from the ground and into the sky, exploding overhead and grabbing everyone’s attention.
“Nice.” They kept an eye on the juggler, and when he was gearing up for another firework, Tenzin grabbed his hand. “Now.”
They flew from their spot and alighted on Vano’s trailer just as the second rocket exploded.
Tenzin put a finger to her lips and smiled. Then she slid across the roof to the plastic-covered air vent that was just small enough for a child to crawl through.
“There’s no way my shoulders are going to fit through that,” he hissed.
Tenzin frowned. “You’re not going in.”
“Vano thinks you’re dead, Tenzin. If he finds you in his trailer—”
“He’s not going to.” She waited for the next firework before she ripped off the vent with her hands and handed the lid to Ben. “Be right back.”
How on earth had René broken into this thing? Other t
han the vent that it took a contortionist—or Tenzin—to enter, it was a vault. He didn’t see a crack or a seam. Ben was reluctantly impressed.
He waited on the roof, trying his best to appear like just another wind vampire hanging out on a caravan roof at the party, watching the fireworks light the night sky.
A few minutes after she’d disappeared, Ben saw Tenzin’s hand pop up through the vent, holding a small bundle wrapped in leather. He grabbed it, stuffed it inside his jacket, and went back to ignoring the slight rocking beneath him as she moved around the trailer.
Five achingly long minutes after her hand first appeared, it popped up again, this time holding another bundle. Ben grabbed it and shoved it next to the other goblet before he scooted over and tried to help Tenzin out.
She lifted herself up and out of the vent, only to get stuck at her hips.
Ben frowned. “What’s the problem?”
“I have no idea.” She twisted and squirmed, but it just wasn’t happening.
“What’s going on?” Ben looked at her hips. “You didn’t have a problem getting in.”
“Maybe gravity helped?”
It was a tiny vent, but if she’d entered that easily…
Ben crossed his arms. “What’s in your pockets?”
Her eyes went wide. “My pockets?”
He reached down and squeezed his hand through the side of the vent, reaching around her backside to feel a large lump that had definitely not been there before. “You have gold bullion in your pockets, Tiny.”
“Do I?”
“Are you trying to tell me it just happened to fall in there and you didn’t notice?”
“It’s only twenty… thirty ounces. Maybe.”
Ben squeezed one cheek. “Really?”
“In each pocket,” she muttered. “Fine.” She sighed heavily and dropped down again, only to lift a handful of small gold bars through the vent.
“Uh-uh.” Ben wasn’t taking Vano’s gold. Sure, he was a bad guy, but Ben had been hired to find Radu’s goblet. If he wanted to maintain a reputation as an honest operator, he had to stick to his principles.
Dawn Caravan Page 28