Blood and Sand

by Elizabeth Hunter

  Leaning against the door that opened to the underground pool, Baojia smiled. All the women were there. Beatrice and Dez were laughing about something as they sat on the steps. Brigid, the odd fire vampire, was sitting off to the edge, separate, but seemingly at ease and chiming in with the occasional witty remark. He liked the woman’s sense of humor, though her carelessness with Natalie’s safety still left something to be desired. In the water, Natalie turned and flipped, as comfortable as a fish.

  Or a mermaid. The thought made him smile as he watched her. She was wearing a tiny white bathing suit that showed off her creamy skin and freckles. The same skin he could make flush with a whisper or a kiss. His fangs grew long at the thought.

  She would make an excellent vampire. She had the intelligence and practicality necessary for their kind, and a humor that would serve her well in immortality. He could see her born to water. Her fair skin grew paler in his mind. Her red hair more vibrant in contrast. Her rosy lips fell open as her fangs dropped. He realized, rather shockingly, that he wanted her to bite him. Wanted the feel of her teeth in his neck.

  Ridiculous. It would make her ill to taste his blood.

  He willed his fangs to retract as he silently approached. Natalie was doing flips in the shallow end, alternately joking and drinking a glass of white wine. Beatrice and Dez saw him enter; Natalie did not. Stepping to the edge, he reached out with his amnis and called the water to himself. It sang and danced, wrapping around Natalie and pulling her toward the corner where he stood as she yelped in protest.

  “Hey! What the—? B, are you—?”

  Beatrice held up her hands. “Don’t look at me. And hey, leave some water in the pool, will ya?”

  He was smiling when the waves whipped her around, bringing her up and toward him as he bent over slightly. Her lips were parted in shock when he leaned down to kiss her.

  “Good evening,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to intrude. I just wanted to check on you.”

  “Am I going to fall?” Her face was flushed and strands of wet hair curled along her neck. “I feel like I’m going to fall.”

  He shook his head. “Never.” Tucking the hair back, he placed another quick kiss on her mouth before he stepped away from the edge of the pool. “Apparently, I’ll be in the library if you need me.”

  “Oh, I’m fine, we’re just—” Her mouth fell open and she looked down to the water that held her. Her cheeks were suddenly rosy again. “Oh, hi. Neat trick.”

  Baojia released the water he’d been directing over her body and lifted one eyebrow. “In the library if you need me. For anything.”

  She gulped and nodded. “I’ll let you know.”

  The corner of his mouth turned up as he walked away. “You do that.”

  “Bye.”

  “And don’t leave the house without me.”

  ead.8">do that.Spoilsport!”

  He continued down the hall and up the back stairs toward the smell of fire. The damn Italian always smelled like smoke. He supposed it was instinct that set his fangs on edge. He could also hear Matt Kirby’s low voice coming from the room. When he entered, the two men were drinking scotch and leaning over the library table, which was full of Natalie’s notes. They had arrived two nights before, just about the time he’d flown off to the desert with Tenzin.

  Baojia frowned and cleared his throat, but Giovanni only waved him closer, still concentrating on a map in front of him. “Welcome. I’m assuming you found Natalie already. Please, help yourself to a drink.”

  He frowned and walked closer. “What are we doing?”

  “We’re looking over Nat’s notes,” Matt said with a smile. “And avoiding the girls.”

  Giovanni frowned at one of Natalie’s yellow legal pads. “Apparently, they went over all the files this afternoon while we were sleeping. They’re taking a break and…” The scowl deepened. “Comparing notes.”

  Male alarm bells began to clamor. “About what?”

  “Who knows?” Matt shrugged. “All I know is I finally got my mom to babysit Carina, and Dez wanted to come over here.” He looked at Baojia and Giovanni. “No offense guys, but you’re not that cute.”

  “None taken,” Baojia said. “And did they mention anything specific?”

  Matt said, “About us? Or Natalie’s notes?”

  He honestly wasn’t sure which answer he wanted. He decided to stick with murder and political manipulation. “The notes?”

  “Beatrice noticed a pattern in the locations the bodies were dropped in. All the locations were within a few miles of Highway 8.”

  Baojia nodded. “That fits with a big rig coming from Mexico.”

  “And most of the women—the ones they’ve identified anyway—have been poor girls who came to Ensenada looking for work.”

  “Waitresses?”

  Giovanni said, “A lot of the families didn’t seem to know what the girls did. Or the police didn’t ask. She only has the reports they took. But most of them are from around Ensenada.”

  “Easy prey for Ivan,” he muttered. An idea struck him as he looked at the map of the city. “If these girls are from the country, chances are many of them are devout. Is your priest friend coming? Why didn’t he come with his wife?”

  He saw Giovanni smother a smile. “There might have been a fight. Or five. I sent the plane back for Carwyn almost immediately. He won’t be happy about traveling on it, but he’ll come if Brigid’s here.”

  Baojia made a mental note to stay out of the way when that reunion occurred. He knew the reputation of the earth vampire who had left the priesthood. He didn’t want to stand between the immortal and his fire vampire of a wife if they were in disagreement.

  “Why?” Giovanni asked. “What are you thinking?”

  “There is a priest…” He pointed to a small church near the downtown area. “Here. He has a shelter for women. Abused. Prostitutes. Homeless. Anyone who struggles, really. I’m almost certain he knows about our kind. It would be suspicious for me to go speak to him now, but if your friend could, he might be able to learn something about these girls. If they were from the country, they might have gone to this church. And the priest might know what their situation was. Were they being coerced? Did their behavior seem odd? I don’t know if he would know anything about the elixir,ut this churc but if girls are disappearing, he probably would have noticed.”

  “Good idea. I’ll have Carwyn get in contact with him when he arrives. I’ll be going through the rest of these to see if I can spot anything she missed. What is your plan for tonight?”

  How perceptive for the fire vampire to realize he would grow restless poring over pieces of paper. “I am going to trail Rory. It’s ridiculous to think he knows nothing about this.”

  Matt asked, “Do you think Ernesto knows?”

  “I don’t think so, but he can be… careless.” Baojia shifted, uneasy about speaking of his sire in any unflattering way. “He’s an excellent politician, but he depends on others too much. When it was me giving him information, he could trust it. But Rory is not me.”

  “Caspar mentioned Paula came last night,” Giovanni said.

  “Yes.” He flipped through another pad of Natalie’s notes.

  “Do you think—?”

  “I don’t know what to think of my sister. I do not believe she would betray our sire. Neither would she choose to be suspicious of her mate.”

  “And Ernesto?” Giovanni asked. “Does he know about this? Or is he turning a blind eye?”

  “Ernesto will do what is good for Ernesto and those under his aegis. He’s no philanthropist to the general human population, but he doesn’t want to lose face, either. If he was getting the right information, he would see how bad this looks for him. Which is why I think he must be in the dark.”

  “So… Rory?”

  He gave a quick nod. “Rory. I’ll trail him tonight. Try to get a feel for what he’s doing with me gone.”

  Matt said, “Be careful.”

  “I will.
Don’t tell Natalie where I’ve gone, and don’t let her leave the house.”

  Matt looked like he’d be avoiding Natalie for the rest of the evening, based on his uncomfortable expression. Giovanni just shrugged and said, “No problem.”

  Baojia nodded in approval. Maybe the Italian wasn’t so bad after all.

  He was reassured to find that, other than household security, most of his protocols were still being followed. The businesses and clubs he’d been in charge of in LA still seemed to have the same guards stationed as he trailed Rory in the borrowed Mustang. He grimaced when he realized who Rory’s driver was. It looked like poor Luis had been demoted from running the club. He’d have to find a way to make it up to the young man.

  Overall, his brother-in-law didn’t seem to be doing anything suspicious. It was the same boring routine Baojia had been in charge of for years. He made the rounds, collected the cash, and dealt with whatever minor problems the managers mentioned to him. He made one trip up to Malibu to rough up a marijuana grower who hadn’t paid Ernesto a distribution fee he owed, then he headed down PCH toward Long Beach.

  Opening the windows, Baojia followed at a comfortable distance, knowing that Rory was probably heading to Ernesto’s yacht. He enjoyed the crisp ocean air whipping through the car and thought about what Natalie had said at the bar.

  I miss fog sometimes. Miss the smell of the ocean. It smells like the ocean here, but not the right way. That probably doesn’t make much sense.

  It made perfect sense to him. The ocean held a million scents. He remembered the smell of the ship he’d taken to America. Even though the human memory was old, it wasas the vivid. He remembered the smell of the fog off San Francisco Bay, and the first memory of waking as an immortal. He’d been near the ocean, and the smell of it—the kelp and crab, cold northern currents, and cypress-scented fog—clung to his mind like some persistent ache.

  What if he could go back? What if she went with him? His mind kept circling back to her as he drove. Her intelligence. Her humor. She made him laugh at himself, and no one did that. When he was with her, he felt alive. By the time he arrived in Long Beach, Baojia was ready to jump in the Pacific to distract himself.

  Which was fortunate, because he’d have to swim if he wanted to reach Ernesto’s boat. He didn’t want to attract attention by stealing a smaller craft, so he parked in a dark corner, slipped off his clothes, and swam out to the Esmerelda, Ernesto’s favorite—and most luxurious—craft. As he approached the boat, he could hear his family dining on the deck near the bow. He clung to the hull and let the wind carry their voices to him.

  “—delighted if she would come for a visit. She’s a darling girl. And I adore the French.”

  “Beatrice promised an introduction, but no more. I do not want some silly child boring me with her chatter.”

  “She’s over seventy years old, not a child.”

  “Desmarais dotes on her—” The wind stole the words from his ears. “—we shall see.”

  “It would be a good connection to have. Oh, did you see the new film that is opening next week? We must go, Papa. Rory doesn’t want to go because it has subtitles.”

  “It shouldn’t be that much work to watch a damn movie, Paula.”

  “Whatever you like, querida…”

  They chattered on, the familiar banter of those who had once called him brother and son. Baojia tried not to care. If he were honest with himself, he had never fit in. Not completely. Paula was Ernesto’s favorite and always had been. Rory was Paula’s mate. And Baojia…

  He worked. He made sure things ran smoothly and no one was hurt. He had the sudden realization that his human family and his vampire family were startlingly similar.

  “Do you see? They are settled now. Your father has his own shop, and your brother has a future. Your mother mends clothes, but soon, she will not even have to do this and will be comfortable in her old age.” Ernesto leaned toward him, whispering into his ear as they stood in the dark alley in Chinatown, so near where he had first encountered the strange creature. The familiar, comforting lilt of his native tongue filled the air as Ernesto continued in English. “Your sister will make the finest of marriages. She is a good girl from a respectable family. She will have her pick of husbands.”

  Baojia watched from across the road as his mother swept the dusty front step and his father counted the new money at the counter. His brother was now as tall as he was; they had once looked like twins. But his brother still had the slight frame of a young man and the pale complexion of a clerk, unlike Baojia’s ruddy skin and thicker shoulders. He craned his neck to see his little sister, now grown into a young woman. Beautiful. She was beautiful.

  He blinked back tears. It had been worth it. A fair bargain with the monster.

  His family would be safe. They would never see him again, but Baojia would know they were safe in their new life. They had a shop his money had helped pay for, along with a contribution from the vampire who would sire him. They had a prosperous future ahead ofutu we them. It was the best he could give.

  “Are you ready now?”

  He slowly nodded. “Yes, Father. I am ready.”

  Baojia shoved back the unexpected memory. He hadn’t checked on his human family in years. Perhaps it was time. His brother had married and had three children. His sister had raised even more. Some of their grandchildren were now among the wealthiest in the city. The Chen family had respect and long ties in the Chinese-American community in San Francisco. And they had no idea who he was.

  I like you the most, George.

  He smiled at the memory of her voice, despite the cold water and the feeling of isolation. He glanced up at the lights on the deck, shining over the harbor as he hid in the shadows.

  They didn’t deserve you…

  Baojia looked for the moon, finding it lower than he had expected. How long had he been gone? He dropped back in the water and swam for shore. Suddenly, returning to Natalie seemed far more important than eavesdropping on a family that had never really been his.

  Was it only desire? He desired her deeply, but Natalie wasn’t the most beautiful woman he’d ever enjoyed as a lover. Was it her humor? Her intelligence? For some reason, he knew it had become far more than the commitment he’d made to keep her safe.

  By the time he reached the house, Baojia’s mind had conjured up forty-seven different scenarios that all ended with Natalie in mortal danger. Had she managed to sneak away without someone spotting her? Had Ivan’s people somehow slipped past the Italian’s guard? Had one of the other enemies he’d gained over one hundred years of violence tracked him down and taken her? Had she hit her head on the edge of the pool? Had she tripped and fallen down the stairs?

  His mind was on the edge of exploding with all the ways the human could die. It was exasperating. Infuriating. She was ridiculously vulnerable. He parked the car in the driveway and rushed through the kitchen door. Beatrice was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping what smelled like coffee.

  “Where is Natalie?” he asked in a clipped voice.

  She lifted one eyebrow. “Hello to you, too. Been swimming in Long Beach?”

  “Where is she?”

  “Sheesh!” She curled her lip. “Relax. She turned in about an hour ago. Had a little too much wine and got tired of waiting up for you. She’s nuts about you, by the way. I’m only telling you this because she’s conflicted about it, and I’m pretty sure you’re in love with her because you’re doing that panicky, protective thing Gio did when I was still human.”

  He ignored Beatrice’s presumptuous statement and asked, “Why is she conflicted?”

  “Men.” She shook her head. “All idiots. Why do you think, vampire? She’s human. She’s spent her whole life thinking her happily ever after is going to involve finding someone to love and grow old with. Have kids and maybe a dog.”

  Baojia forced himself to relax and stepped closer. “I don’t have a problem with dogs. I’ll get her a dog.”

  “That’s n
ot…” Beatrice shook her head. “That’s not the point. She’s adjusting to the new reality, you know? She’s had, what? A couple of weeks? It took me months to get used to the idea with Gio. Years, really.”

  Baojia smirked and sat across from her. “I remember. It was kind of fun to see you put him through the wringer.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you enjoyed that.” Byed aceatrice set down the coffee and reached for his hand. “You were a good friend to me, even when I didn’t know it. And… if there hadn’t have been Gio—”

  “Don’t. There was. There always was. And it’s not the same.” He looked toward the door. “Nothing is the same with her.”

  “I’d like to see you happy.”

  “I am,” he said, somewhat surprised. “I think… I am.”

  She smiled. “Then run along.” She picked up her coffee again and sipped. “And don’t mess it up.”

  Baojia rose and walked toward the door that would take him back to her. He paused at the threshold. “Beatrice?”

  “Hmm?”

  He turned and leaned against the wall. “Do you ever wonder?”

  “About…” She raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah.”

  She grinned. “When he’s pissing me off? Sure.”

  Baojia broke into a grin and started to laugh as he walked down the hall and toward the lower floors. He punched in the code and slipped into the dark room where Natalie was already sleeping. As he reprogrammed the lock, he noticed she had left on the light in the bathroom and had pulled his pillow under her face, clutching it as she slept.

  “Natalie?”

  He laid his clothes carefully over the chair in the corner when he undressed. He’d hang them the next night. “Natalie?” he whispered again as he slid into bed behind her.

  “Hmm?”

  “I’m back.”

  She was still sleeping, but she snuggled up next to him, tucking her back into his chest and fitting their bodies together like two pieces of a puzzle.

  “Hey. Cold.”

  “Sorry about that. I was swimming.”

  “Gonna talk tomorrow, mister.”