Night's Reckoning

by Elizabeth Hunter

  Ben walked out of the phone room and around the palace, marveling at the night sky. It was astonishing in ways that he couldn’t even describe, greater than any stargazing. Better than the pictures NASA posted online. It was as if he’d been wearing sunglasses his whole life and he’d just taken them off. Colors were more vivid; the dark wasn’t dark at all.

  A voice in the back of his mind told him that he’d miss the sun eventually, but for now he was enjoying the many changing shades of the moon.

  “Once you’re off the island,” Zhang said, “you’ll be allowed to have a voice-operated phone that is more familiar. There is no reason for you to be isolated from your friends or family as long as they are supportive.”

  A warning tossed out, but Ben understood. As long as no one gave him a hard time about being a vampire—or allowed him to vent his misgivings about Zhang—he could speak to them. Ben thought about all the people he wanted to speak to. Chloe. Gavin. Fabia.

  Tenzin.

  No, he didn’t want to speak to Tenzin. He couldn’t.

  “Ronan,” he said. “I’d like to speak to my friend Ronan when it’s possible.”

  “Of course,” Zhang said.

  If anyone could understand, it would be Ronan, who had recently transitioned from mortal to immortal. Or would he? Ronan had chosen to be a vampire. He hadn’t had it forced on him by violence.

  Who did he know that hadn’t made the choice?

  Giovanni, of course. Though he’d been expecting it. That was complicated.

  Brigid.

  Brigid would listen to him. Brigid would help. She was a fire vampire and not always the best at control, but she was mated to Carwyn, one of Giovanni’s best friends—a vampire Tenzin didn’t particularly like but Ben trusted implicitly.

  But he’d talk to Ronan first. Besides being a friend, Ronan was a bit of a gossip. If Ben wanted to spread the word quickly that he was no longer among the strictly living, Ronan was the man to tell.

  He walked back to his room in Zhang’s wing of the palace and thought about the previous night. It was a little past dusk, and Giovanni and Beatrice would be picking up Fabia in Fuzhou soon. After that, they would make their way to Penglai and arrive just before dawn.

  Until then, he would wait.

  He refused to think about the treasure in the ocean or the Night’s Reckoning or Johari and her crimes. If he did, he’d drive himself mad. He had to focus on making it through each night and becoming familiar with his body again.

  He’d stared at his reflection in the mirror until the bloodstained tears dried and he could look at his eyes without raging.

  Persian eyes.

  He didn’t know what that meant. What did any of it mean? Why had his eyes changed but Beatrice’s hadn’t? Why did he feel sharp pinpricks in the soles of his feet at times? Would that sensation go away? Zhang thought they were echoes of the injury that would have left him paralyzed if he’d not been changed.

  Ben tried not to notice the pinpricks and focused on controlling his amnis. He couldn’t fly yet, even though Zhang said the ability was entirely up to him. He had the power, he just didn’t have the control. Floating while he slept wasn’t really flying.

  Gavin once told Ben that it had taken years for him to have the ability to fly. Logically, Ben knew that having Zhang as his sire meant that he would be very powerful. Right now, however, he felt like a clumsy child that cried too often and didn’t know how to control his emotions.

  Ben read a book of poetry Zhang had given him as they walked barefoot through the garden. It was in Mandarin, which was easy for him to speak but difficult for him to read. This poet wasn’t anyone Ben had heard of, but his writing was spare and used easy characters, which made the exercise challenging but not impossible. Focusing on the characters soothed his tumbling thoughts.

  He’d once thought he’d have to be content speaking Mandarin well and only reading a little. But now Ben realized he had time.

  He had a lot of time.

  Ben had so much time before him, it threatened to drive him a little insane.

  Focus on the now. Focus on the characters.

  Once he understood the literal meaning, then he could think about the metaphorical meaning. Ben suddenly realized why Giovanni loved reading poetry so much, especially poetry he had to translate. Keeping his mind focused and occupied was difficult with so much new stimuli.

  A female vampire approached the garden from the Hall of the Elders and stopped at the edge of the grass.

  “You may approach,” Zhang said.

  The woman stepped forward and bowed. The slight current of air that gusted toward him smelled of aromatic resin and anise, which meant she’d been working around incense. The closer she came, the more Ben caught hints of gardenia flowers.

  No one told you that when you became a wind vampire, the whole world was composed of scents. Good ones. Bad ones. Some truly horrendous ones. The wind had been blowing off the ocean when he woke earlier, and the overwhelming scent of seaweed—which he’d once enjoyed—had almost made him puke. It was incredibly potent.

  There was a whole wing of Zhang’s palace that smelled of honey and cardamom, the two scents he associated most with Tenzin.

  Don’t think about her.

  If he thought about Tenzin, he would want… He would just want.

  The vampire approaching them walked slowly, no doubt not wanting to startle the newborn. “Zhang’s son, you are looking well this evening.”

  “Thank you.” He tried to smile at the sweet-faced woman, but it probably looked more like a grimace.

  She smiled back but spoke to Zhang. “Your guests have sent word that they will arrive in two hours, Elder. The boat will be waiting for them at the dock.”

  “Thank you,” Zhang said.

  She bowed and backed away, probably to avoid turning her back on the newborn.

  “How long are people going to be afraid of me?” Ben asked.

  “Does it bother you that they’re afraid of you?”

  “Yes.” Ben had spent his life trying to be inconspicuous, trying to set people at ease so they would give him what he wanted or needed. “I really hate it, actually.”

  “Then there is good news and bad news for you,” Zhang said. “The bad news is that for the rest of your immortal life, there will be some—possibly many—who see you as a threat. This is because you are dangerous and you will be very powerful.”

  “Great.”

  “The good news is that your attitude pleases me. Too often men seek this life because they want to be feared. That you do not means that my daughter was correct.”

  “Oh?”

  Zhang turned and looked him in the eye. “Yes. She told me years ago that you would make an extraordinary vampire, Benjamin Vecchio. I believe she was right.”

  Ben didn’t know how to respond to that.

  “Of course,” Zhang said, “we don’t need to tell Tenzin she was right. She already thinks she’s omniscient. No need to encourage her.”

  31

  Tenzin conveyed Ben’s message to Fabia, dismissing the girl’s obvious anger so she could focus on finding any trace of the doctor or Johari.

  If Tenzin’s suspicions were correct, Johari would be feeling lost, literally out of her element. The man she probably still loved was in a refugee camp across the ocean, she had been sent on a deadly assignment with little hope of success by her new vampire sire, and she hadn’t had any time to plan.

  What would be Saba’s play? What was the plan? They could not know when or how the Laylat al Hisab would be found. How was Johari supposed to get it back to her sire? Who would she meet? Where?

  How did an out-of-place earth vampire get an ancient sword from the East China Sea to the Mediterranean, particularly when her sire had few connections in East Asia and Pasifika?

  A ship. Obviously, it had to be a ship.

  She waited in Cheng’s office for him to see Fabia off on the helicopter, staring at the large map he’d posted on h
is wall.

  Taiwan.

  Hong Kong? No, still ruled by Penglai, though it had its own regional lord like Cheng controlled Shanghai.

  Would she have gone south?

  The Philippines.

  Hainan.

  Once she reached the South China Sea, all bets would be off. Power in that region shifted constantly. If Johari reached the Indian Ocean, she and the sword would be lost. The ocean was too big. There were too many ports in Southeast Asia as it was, and Tenzin had connections there. She had to stop Johari before she reached the Indian Ocean.

  Cheng entered his office and caught her staring at the map.

  “Tell me Sina has something,” Tenzin said.

  “I don’t think she went that far south.” Cheng sat on the corner of his desk.

  “So we have nothing?” Tenzin cut her eyes to Cheng. “How can we have nothing?”

  “Think, Tenzin. Johari once drew her strength from the water, but she’s an earth vampire now. She’s comfortable in the ocean, but swimming will eventually drain her energy.”

  “So she can’t have gone far.”

  Cheng toyed with the cuff of his shirt. “I sent a message to Jimmu. I had a feeling he might know something.”

  “Jimmu doesn’t owe me any favors,” Tenzin said. “How much does he want?”

  “Don’t worry about it; Jimmu owes me a favor.”

  “Cheng—”

  “I was hired to do a job, and I’m going to do it. Jimmu gave me a tip. A yacht owned by a Kenyan businessman docked in Taipei over a week ago. The businessman’s name has been linked to a company that is vampire-owned. They were there for about a week, and no one presented themselves to Jimmu’s daughter, who runs the island.”

  Taiwan was an independent human state, but in the vampire world it was a prefecture under Jimmu’s control.

  “Taipei.” She glanced at the clock. “It’s what? An hour to fly?”

  “If that.”

  “Johari could have swum there in one night,” Tenzin said. “Especially if she was desperate.”

  “You can see the lights of Taipei in the distance. Even without a water ability, she’s still a vampire. She wouldn’t have to surface. She wouldn’t have to worry about predators. She could have swum to the north end of Taiwan from here before dawn.”

  “Is the boat still there?”

  “No. The yacht departed last night. Since whatever immortal was on the ship never disembarked, Jimmu’s daughter didn’t pursue it. Their human crew bought fuel and supplies only.”

  “The name of the ship?”

  “Arion’s Flight,” Cheng said. “I’m already asking.”

  “They took on supplies in Taipei?”

  “Yes.”

  “How far could they get?”

  Cheng was clearly frustrated. “Jimmu didn’t give me enough information about the ship, and there are too many factors to even guess. We don’t know how many or where—”

  “They’ll be headed to the Mediterranean,” Tenzin said. “They’re taking it to Saba.”

  “Why would Saba want this sword?” Cheng said. “It makes no sense, Tenzin.”

  “It does if you’re her.” Tenzin rose and started for the door. “I’m flying to Taipei tonight. Find me a place to sleep. I’ll call you before dawn.”

  “Good luck,” he said quietly. “And be careful.”

  Ben waited in his room while Zhang greeted Giovanni and Beatrice in the Hall. The arrival of two world-renowned scholars meant that every elder was in the Hall, particularly when those scholars were the adoptive parents of Zhang’s newly sired son.

  The drama and tension on the island were palpable.

  He heard footsteps approaching and rose just as Beatrice opened the door to his room.

  “Ben?”

  He couldn’t say a word. He rushed to his aunt, who opened her arms to embrace him. Ben fell on her, wrapped her in his arms, and held on tight. He could feel the silent tears running down his face, but he didn’t think about them. He didn’t think about anything but the comfort of her embrace, her familiar scent, and the sure and steady sound of her voice.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s okay, Ben. You’re going to be okay.”

  Ben hid his face in her neck and allowed a wave of carefully repressed sorrow to break free. He heard the door slide closed, and something fell off a table. Wind whipped around the room, and Giovanni’s hand brushed over Ben’s head and neck, soothing him.

  “Calm down,” his uncle said. “Be calm, Benjamin.”

  The wind died down and Ben lifted his head, wiping red-tinted tears from his face.

  Beatrice put her hand on his cheek and forced his eyes to hers. She froze for a second, then her thumb brushed his cheek. “I figured you’d be even more handsome after. Look at those eyes, Gio.” She smiled. “See? Now he’ll never get the girls to leave him alone.”

  Ben let out a laugh that was halfway to a sob. “Everything is so weird, B. I can’t even look at my face anymore.”

  “I know, kiddo.” She took a breath. “But you’re gonna get through this.”

  “Come here.” Giovanni took Ben by the shoulder and drew him into an embrace. “We love you so much. You will master this. You are going to be fine.”

  “Have you talked to her?” Ben didn’t know how Giovanni reacted to the question, but he saw Beatrice’s mouth flatten to a tight line.

  “No,” she said. “Our priority was getting to you.”

  “You are the only thing on our schedule right now,” Giovanni said. “We’re here for as long as you want.”

  “Fabi? Wait— Sadia!” It suddenly hit Ben that he wasn’t going to be able to see his adopted sister for at least a year. She was human. He wasn’t going to be able to play hide-and-seek with her or push her on the swings. “Where’s Sadia if you’re here?”

  “Sadia is fine,” Beatrice said. “Don’t worry about her. She and the nanny are at the hangar with Fabia. The pilot can take them all on to Rome if we need to stay here. But Fabi wanted to hear from us about how you’re doing before she left. Everyone knows they can’t see you right now.

  “Let’s sit.” Giovanni kept his arm around Ben’s shoulders and led him to a low sitting area in the corner. “Would you like tea?” he asked. “I think tea is an excellent idea.”

  “Sure.” Ben sat next to Beatrice, keeping her hand in his. “Tea sounds good.”

  Giovanni went to look for a servant, leaving Ben with Beatrice. He felt an instinctive pull toward her, while also an instinctive caution. He supposed it was because he was a predator now. He could sense her amnis in an entirely new way. He felt how powerful she was. He could feel his amnis poking and prodding hers like a child testing its limits.

  “You don’t know what you’re doing yet,” she said quietly. “So I should tell you that it’s quite aggressive.”

  He drew his hand back. “What?”

  “It’s okay.” She grabbed his hand and didn’t let go. “You have very little control right now. Just be aware that the way your amnis is testing mine, if I didn’t know you, I’d consider it aggressive.”

  “I don’t know anything,” Ben whispered. “I am so confused right now.”

  “And you aren’t a man accustomed to being confused, which makes it harder. You’ve probably counted on knowing how things work since you were old enough to tie your own shoes.”

  Ben thought back to a childhood running around the sidewalks and alleys of the Bowery, pulling petty cons on unsuspecting tourists. He could read a mark. He could read a room. And he knew the streets of his neighborhood like the back of his hand. “Pretty much, yes.”

  She took a deep breath. “Just focus on drawing your amnis in. Can you feel it? Like a second skin. Focus on drawing that close to you. Make it snug. It’ll keep your skin from hurting so much too.”

  He nodded and focused on drawing his wild amnis back to himself. It felt like trying to grab a handful of water. Every time he drew it close, it dissolved and re-
formed in a new way.

  “You’ll get it,” Beatrice said. “It’ll get easier every night. After the first month or so, you won’t even think about it.”

  “Is that how long it took you?”

  “Yeah.” She narrowed her eyes. “I think so.”

  “Your eyes didn’t change.”

  “Nope.” She brushed her thumb over his cheekbone again. “But yours did. There are rules, Ben, just like in human biology, but there are probably more exceptions than there are rules. I always assumed Tenzin’s eyes had changed, so maybe it’s something about Zhang’s blood.” Her mouth fixed in that line again. “How has Zhang been?”

  “Good,” Ben said. “I guess. I mean, I’m still getting to know him. I don’t know much about him, because it’s not like Tenzin was ever chatty about her sire. Do you know much about him?”

  She took a long time to answer, which told Ben that yes, she knew things about Zhang, and they weren’t good.

  “I can’t tell you who he is now,” Beatrice said carefully. “I only know some of Tenzin’s history with him. But that was a long time ago, and it’s not my story to tell.”

  “To me he seems… fair.”

  “Fair is good.”

  Ben looked down at their joined hands. “He wants to take me to a place in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere in Mongolia, I think.”

  “Mongolia?” Beatrice took another deep breath.

  “Yeah.”

  “For how long?”

  “A year at least, he said.”

  “So just for training?”

  “I think so?” He lifted his shoulders. “B, I really have no idea.”

  “We should talk to Gio.”

  “About what?” Ben felt defeated. “He’s my sire now. He can make me go wherever he wants.”

  “Is that why you’re so angry?”

  Ben swallowed the burn in his throat. “I’m not angry.”

  “You are furious.” Beatrice smiled. “I can see it in your beautiful eyes.”

  I don’t want beautiful eyes. I want my eyes.

  “I’m not furious,” he said carefully.