Blood and Sand

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “What odd smell?” Beatrice and Dez asked at the same time. Funny, he’d almost forgotten they were there.

  “The dead girls all smelled… sour. Not like a normal human at all. Their blood smelled fermented.”

  “Hmm.” Giovanni leaned onto the table, eyes narrowing. “That fits with what Brigid has discovered about the smell of Elixir, too.”

  “The smell?” Natalie asked.

  Beatrice said, “It has a distinctive smell of pomegranates—”

  “Yes, that’s what it was.” His heart pounded. “Pomegranates. The girls smelled like pomegranates.”

  Beatrice and Giovanni exchanged a look. “Well, it’s definitely Elixir then. We’d better call Dublin.”

  “Already have,” piped up a voice from the couch. Baojia turned. It was Tenzin. She was putting together a puzzle that was laid out on a low table. “I sent the plane last night.”

  Giovanni said, “You just sent my plane to Dublin?”

  She shrugged. “I sent a note.”

  He saw the Italian smother a smile. “You know, we could have just used the telephone, Tenzin.”

  Tenzin frowned. “Where’s the fun in that? I’d rather see Brigid.”

  Baojia turned to Natalie, whose eyes were beginning to droop from exhaustion. “You might want to get some sleep. It appears there will be more vampires showing up tomorrow.”

  She forced out a wobbly smile. “Goody.”

  It was only an hour before dawn, and Baojia was paging through the notes Natalie had left out on the library table. The pieces were finally forming a clearer picture, but he still had no idea what theirdeafore dawn, plan of action needed to be. And there were still too many questions. If Ivan was doing this, what was his game? Did the cartel in Mexico City know? How many humans had been infected? Baojia had been the head of Ernesto Alvarez’s security and even he hadn’t known the details of this drug. Did Ivan? Was Ivan taking it?

  He felt the presence at the door and a smoky smell filled the air.

  “Hello,” Giovanni said. “She’s very smart.”

  “Natalie? Yes, frighteningly so, at times. She rushes into things, following her brain with no thought to her physical safety.”

  “Your relationship—”

  “Is private,” he said quietly. “I’m sure you understand.”

  Giovanni nodded. “I do.” He walked over and sat at the other end of the table. “Does she know what it all means? You leaving Ernesto? Being placed under your aegis?”

  “No. Not entirely.”

  “So she doesn’t know you’ll have to leave?”

  “We haven’t talked about it.” He gave up and set down the notes. “I haven’t thought about it much myself, to be completely honest. I can’t stay here. I have resources, but few connections outside my clan. And I cannot ask for an official introduction from Ernesto at this point.” Vampire politics was tricky. In order to move to a new place, he’d need the tacit permission of whoever controlled the area, or he’d need to be in an isolated enough location that no one would pay him any mind. The problem was, he now had Natalie to consider, too.

  As if reading his thoughts, Giovanni said, “Would she go with you willingly?”

  “Her life is here.”

  “Her old life is here. You have to make her realize she won’t be able to go back to that.”

  “How…” Baojia’s voice was rough. “How did you tell Beatrice—?”

  “I didn’t. Not for five years. She moved here, and I never told her the truth of it. Not completely.” The Italian gave him a rueful smile. “I wouldn’t recommend that course.”

  “Understood.” It was too complicated to solve in one night. There were too many factors to consider and too many unknown variables. His thoughts were a jumble, and his feelings for the woman were no less tangled.

  “Have you thought about San Francisco?” Giovanni asked.

  “San Francisco? No. Why?”

  A smug smile crossed the fire vampire’s lips. “You were turned there, were you not? While Katya was in power? Do you know if Ernesto had permission from her to take a human from her territory?”

  “I don’t.” He’d never even thought about the ruler of the Pacific Northwest more than in passing or when talking with his peers on her security team when they’d arranged for business or political meetings. “You think I should reach out to her?”

  “I think…” Giovanni smiled again. “I think she and Ernesto have had a

  friendly rivalry for many years. I think she might be more than happy to welcome home a former resident who has lived so long away from his mortal home. And I think she might be particularly welcoming to someone with your… unique résumé.”

  For the first time since he’s left his sire’s home in disgrace, a ray of hope seemed to break through.

  Giovanni rose and nodded toward him as he made his way to the door of the library. “Rest well. And think about it. I’d be happy to write a letter.”

  “Finally get me out of your hair,” he called to the Italedt wlian.

  Giovanni only answered back with a lazy laugh that echoed down the hall.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Wow,” she murmured.

  Dez bounced a chattering baby on her knee and said, “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

  “It’s like watching a Bruce Lee movie. Only, you know, way hotter.”

  Natalie watched Baojia demonstrate another combination of kicks and punches for Benjamin before standing back and motioning the boy toward the wooden training dummy. She and Dez were sitting in the corner of the training studio that Beatrice, Giovanni, Tenzin, and Ben used to practice. One wall was lined with weapons, swords, spears, axes, and more weapons she could barely identify. Four fountains marked the corners of the training mats and dummies, ropes, and weights lined the other walls. It looked like a very well-equipped private gym, and currently, Baojia was giving Ben a lesson in some martial-arts technique.

  His body was a subtle work of art. While he may have been average in height, there was nothing average about Baojia’s body. The skin of his torso was smooth and unmarked, though his forearms and back were marked with a few pale scars. His muscles had been defined by what Natalie guessed was a mortal life filled with manual labor. Not bulky, but incredibly strong. The loose pants he wore concealed his legs, but nothing could conceal the carefully controlled strength. His movements were sharp and almost quicker than her eyes could follow.

  “What’s it called again?”

  Beatrice said, “This particular style is known as Wing Chun. It’s very fast and very precise. Designed for close-range combat. I’m pretty sure he practiced it as a human, which only made him faster as an immortal. Baojia’s a bit of an anomaly. Very powerful for his age.”

  “Ben seems to be picking it up fast,” Natalie said. The young man appeared to take the practice very seriously, watching Baojia at each turn with an intense focus.

  “He’s been training in various martial arts since he was about thirteen. Gio and I want him prepared for… whatever.”

  Baojia spun around in a blur, barely visible to the human eye.

  “It’s so fast.” She leaned forward, fascinated and… well, completely turned on from watching him. She had seen him fight—the memory of his attack on the vampires at Bar El Ruso was painted in vivid color in her mind. But to watch him, really watch him, as he patiently explained each movement or stance to the boy was mesmerizing. He exhibited total efficiency of movement. There was no flourish or extravagance, only a pure economy of energy and focus.

  Her mind tripped back to his kiss in her bed the night before. Focus. That was part of what made him so irresistible. As quiet and distant as he could be in front of others, when Baojia turned his focus on her, the intensity of it rocked her. He kissed her as if it was his mission in life. Just then, his eyes flicked to hers and the dark promise in them caused her face to heat.

  “Oh, hello, dark and sultry look,” Beatrice murmured. “Someone likes
an audience.”

  Dez slapped at Beatrice before Natalie got a chance. “Be quiet. You’re embarrassing her. And he can hear every word we say, you know.”

  Natalie’s blush just got brighter. “Oh, right.”

  Obviously proving Dez’s point, Baojia looked over his shoulder and gave her ledt goa quiet smile. Then he turned back to Ben, adjusting the young man’s arms and pulling his elbows farther in before he practiced a punch. She could see him tell Ben something and the boy nodded, then Baojia demonstrated himself before patting Ben on the back and letting him go.

  “He’s a good teacher,” she said.

  Beatrice nodded. “The best. Even Tenzin says so. I was lucky to have him as my weapons instructor. You should ask him to show you a few things, Nat. I’m fairly positive it’ll come in handy at some point.”

  “I’m going to hope that most of my battles are won through the whole ‘Pen is mightier than the sword’ philosophy, but I’ll keep that in mind. Dez, can I?” She held her hands out for Carina to give her something else to focus on.

  “Sure. My arms could use a break.”

  Carina immediately started pulling on Natalie’s hair, which caused her to laugh and wince at the same time.

  “She’s so funny, Dez. Amazing. Do you love it?”

  “It has its moments, but yes. Totally love being a mom.”

  Beatrice smiled and reached over, tickling the baby’s tummy and eliciting a giggle. “And she’s definitely the cutest member of the family. Don’t tell Gio.”

  “Or Ben,” Dez said.

  Natalie watched the two women, one mortal, one immortal, tease back and forth. She watched baby Carina nibble on the vampire’s hand as both women watched Ben practice the forms Baojia was teaching him, slowly speeding up with each repetition.

  “This is special,” she murmured. Beatrice and Dez stopped talking and looked at her. “What you guys have here? The family you’ve built. It’s really special.” She swallowed back the lump in her throat and kissed the top of the baby’s head. Her whole life, she’d wanted something like what they had. Did they even realize how lucky they were? For years, it had only been Natalie and her mom and dad. Then her mom was gone and her dad… Well, he was sort of gone, too. She had friends, close ones, even. But it was nothing like what her old friends had built between them.

  Beatrice smiled as if she could read Natalie’s thoughts. “Human. Vampire. Family’s family.”

  “Yeah, starting to get that.” Her attention shifted when the baby pulled at her hair again, tugging Natalie’s face down to her own. Carina patted her chin with one drooly hand as she grinned and babbled. At that moment, Natalie saw him from the corner of her eye, staring at her holding the baby, an odd look on his face. She looked away, suddenly realizing what had led to Baojia’s unexpected confession the night before.

  He was like her now. He didn’t have a family either.

  The moment was interrupted by a whirl of movement. A dark-haired pixie of a woman spun into the room, energy sparking around her. She flung a long, hockey-like stick toward the practice mat, yelling, “Catch, Ben!” as she did. Baojia zipped toward the incoming projectile, grabbing it before it hit anything, then he glared at the newcomer. As if by magic, she was sitting next to Beatrice and bumping her shoulder. “Hey, there. Miss me?”

  Beatrice said, “Incoming.”

  Natalie barely caught her breath before the woman was standing again, one hand held out toward Baojia, who was baring his teeth and already had a sword in his hand. Flames burst into the strange vampire’s hand and Natalie let out a yelp as a sheet of water appeared out of nowhere to flank Baojia. Carina wiggled and laughed in her lap, clapping at the sudden special effects show that had appeared before her.

  “Hello,” the stranger said with a smile. “Friend. Sorry, thought they would have warned you.”

  Baojia said nothing, a low growl rumbling from his throat as he remained in a ready stance, his eyes never leaving the fire vampire.

  “Brigid,” Beatrice said, “you might want to move away from the redhead with the baby.”

  Dez was obviously trying not to panic, even though Carina was delighted by the action. “Yeah, guys. Baby here. Teeny, tiny human.”

  “Oh, is that how it is? She’s his?” The woman shrugged and took a step back. “Understandable, then. Sorry about that.”

  Natalie scooted farther away from the woman, and every foot that separated them seemed to put Baojia more at ease. Eventually, the sword was lowered and the water returned to the fountains, though his fangs remained visible in his mouth. He made no effort to hide them as he walked toward her and leaned down, rubbing his cheek along hers in a quick movement before he turned and stomped back to the practice mat where Ben had been standing and staring silently. Eventually, Ben lifted the long stick the woman had thrown.

  “Is this the hurling thing?”

  “Yep,” Brigid called. “Also handy for bashing idiotic husbands across the back of the head, should the need arise.” Everyone looked at her. “What?”

  Ben said, “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.” Then he and Baojia returned to the training dummy, with Baojia keeping one eye on Brigid the whole time.

  Natalie finally breathed out. “So… That was interesting.”

  Dez whispered, “And hot.” Beatrice was just beaming at her.

  “What?” Natalie’s face was red again.

  Brigid smiled. “I’m Brigid, by the way. I’d shake your hand, but he’d likely amputate it at the elbow, so I’ll just wave.”

  Natalie waved back. “I’m Natalie. And I’m not really sure what just happened.”

  “That’s one highly possessive vampire you have,” Brigid said in an amused voice, her accent obviously marking her as the Irish vampire Tenzin had sent the plane for. “He’s young, eh?”

  Beatrice shook her head. “Not as young as you. But she’s new. Or rather, they’re new.”

  “Fun.” Brigid leaned back and surveyed the studio. “B, is he the one who taught you to use those crazy hook-swords I want?”

  “Yep, that’s Baojia. And please. You’d never give up your guns.”

  The vampire grinned, fangs fully on display. Like Beatrice, she had black hair and a slim figure, but Brigid was a tiny ball of pure energy. She had shockingly pale skin, even for a vampire, and close-cropped hair that suited her delicate features. Like Giovanni, heat radiated off her. Natalie could feel her from yards away. And her eyes were startlingly inhuman, brown around the pupil feathering out to a deep ash gray. Though Dez had told her the fire vampire was young, Natalie guessed she would have a hard time passing as human to a careful observer.

  The baby was dozing off, no doubt a vampire schedule wreaked havoc on normal bedtime. Carina had nestled into Natalie’s chest, her soft pink cheek warm against the skin of her neck and her little hand still clutching a lock of her red hair. “Hey Dez…”

  “She asleep? I’d better get her home.”

  Reluctantly, Natalie handed over the little girl, feeling the loss of the baby’s warmth as she sat back on the bench.

  “Good to see yGopan>Natou.” Beatrice stood and hugged her friend goodbye. “Tomorrow night?”

  “I promised Matt a human night,” Dez said with a wink. “Bedtime by eleven and a real breakfast the next day.”

  “Daywalker,” Beatrice muttered. “Fine. At least I have new friends to keep me busy.” She threw an arm around Brigid.

  “And cause trouble. Speaking of that…” Brigid looked around the studio and lowered her voice. “What are we waiting around here for?”

  Brigid might have been lighthearted upon first meeting, but the woman was all business once they got in the car. Natalie, being the only human, was the designated driver.

  “Jeez, I miss driving,” Brigid moaned as they caught the 5 going south toward the border.

  “I miss my bike,” Beatrice added. “I need to buy an older one so I can just ride, but I miss my Triumph. By the way, where’s your husband?�
��

  They had returned to the house an hour before, Beatrice assuring Baojia that Natalie would be carefully guarded. She might have left out the current plan to drive to the border to check with one of Natalie’s contacts at the Otay Mesa border crossing.

  “No idea,” Brigid said absently as Natalie steered the car through light traffic. “We’re going to the Mexican border, right? And why there?”

  “The earth vampire Baojia and I spoke to out in the desert said trucks were dumping the bodies, but the victims have all been Mexican nationals. You want trucks coming from Mexico? You go to Otay Mesa. It’s the third busiest port of entry between the US and Mexico. Tons of traffic. And I know a few people who work there.”

  “You’re a newspaper reporter, then?” Brigid asked. “Very cool. I was horrible at writing in university.”

  “Brigid was studying to be a criminologist when life got interesting. Now she does security for the vampire who runs Dublin.”

  “Along with a bit of… consulting, we’ll call it.”

  It felt weird to have them in the backseat. Natalie felt like a chauffeur. She was reminded of poor Luis in San Diego. What would happen to him now that Baojia wasn’t working for Ernesto? What would happen to Baojia’s things? Did he own his house in San Diego? Suddenly, her stomach dropped. Would he be able to move back or would he disappear into the night when this was all over?

  Beatrice piped up from the back. “Why are you so upset, Nat? Your heart is racing.”

  Natalie cleared her throat. “I’m… I’m not. Don’t listen to my heart, B.”

  “It’s pounding out of your chest,” Brigid said. “And you smell of nerves.”

  “God!” Her breath exploded. “Is it always like this with you people? You can smell everything! Hear everything. Baojia never—”

  “He probably doesn’t mention that stuff because he knows it makes you nervous,” Brigid said. “Humans who don’t grow up around our sort tend to be jittery.”

  She bit back an angry retort, feeling like a fish out of water. She felt a hand patting her shoulder from the back seat.