Blood and Sand

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “I’m still angry with you,” she panted. “Even though I love you.”

  “I can deal with angry.” He yanked her hips to his and she wrapped her legs around him. “I want to bite you. And not because I’m hungry.”

  “Why—?”

  “Do you crave it yet?” He licked up the side of her neck until he could bite the lobe of her ear. “Do you crave my bite like I crave your taste, Natalie?”

  Her only answer was a breathy moan. Her head fell to the side, exposing her throat to him. He grabbed the nape of her neck and forced her eyes back to his.

  “If you were a vampire, I would take your blood every night. I would give you mine.” He grabbed the edge of her shirt, yanking it up and over her head so he could feel the heat of her skin on his. “I would feel your teeth pierce my neck. I would live in your body as you live in mine.”

  Just then, she leaned over, sinking her dull teeth into the skin of his neck, biting down possessively as her lips sucked.

  Baojia roared, his hand slamming into the hood of the car as her mouth pulled. She hadn’t broken the skin, but her teeth held him. A thousand nights flashed in his mind. A thousand years of her love. He had to have it. He had been empty until she filled him. With a snarl, he ripped her mouth away, baring his teeth at the drop of blood that lingered at the corner of her lips.

  Her eyes held a kind of madness that mirrored his own. She fumbled with his pants, so he quickly shoved them down, then tossed up the skirt she had borrowed. His fingers slid up the heat of her thighs. Hot. She was burning for him, like a fire in the black desert night. The moon shone down on her pale skin as she lay back on the hood of his car, the metal still holding the warmth of the engine. The only sound around them was the whistle of the wind rustling the brush. She glowed. The single bright spot of light in the blackness that surrounded them. No light, except the moon and the stars that dotted the blackness like the spray of freckles along her pale skin.

  Suddenly gentle, he trailed his fingers lightly over her delicate collarbone, over the curves of her breasts, the dip of her waist. “You are lovely beyond words,” he whispered in Chinese. “For no words deserve you.”

  She only breathed out, “Please.”

  Baojia hooked her leg up and slid inside. Her heat surrounded him as he leaned over her body, pressing his mouth to her navel. The ripple of her ribs and the freckles that marked the swell of her breasts. He lifted her arm, drawing it over her head to anchor her as he moved faster.

  “Yes,” she moaned.

  “Yes, what?” One hand locked around her wrist as the other shoved her leg higher, changing the angle as her body bowed up.

  “I want it. Your bite.” She swallowed hard, the tears teasing the coreasth awaners of her eyes.

  “Then say it.” He bit back on his control, slowing down deliberately when he felt her pleasure mounting.

  “Bite me, Baojia.” Her body arched, trying to move closer to him as he held her down.

  “Not that.” He pulled her closer to the edge. “That’s not what I want to hear.”

  She blinked in confusion until her eyes met his, then the blue softened as they glittered in the low light of the moon.

  Natalie whispered, “I love you.”

  He let out a harsh breath, leaned down, and bit.

  Baojia thought they probably looked like refugees from some post-apocalyptic zombie film when they pulled up to the house in Pasadena. He looked over at Natalie with her torn shirt and dusty skirt. His pants were already ripped at the pockets from having to draw his swords the night before. His shirt was history, and his hair was almost as tangled as hers. They had not been gentle with each other out in the desert, and the dent on the hood of the car… Well, that had been worth it.

  He cocked his head, frowning at her. “You know, once upon a time, I would have taken you out and charmed you. There would have been nice dinners and theater tickets. Maybe the opera.”

  “Do you like the opera?”

  He nodded. “I do, actually.”

  “Then we should go to the opera sometime.” She glanced down. “We might want to change clothes.”

  “San Francisco has an excellent opera.”

  Her smile was shy, but not forced. “I’ve heard.”

  “Just a thought.” He got out of the car and zipped around to her door before she could open it.

  “My knight in dusty armor,” she said, brushing at the tatters of his clothes. Then she glanced at the rather large, hand-shaped dent in the hood of the Camaro. “I almost feel sorry about that.”

  “Don’t. It was dented for a worthy cause.” He caught her glancing at the spot on his neck that had already healed, and she blushed. He was about to give the neighbors another show when he heard the motorcycle coming up the street. Baojia turned, recognizing the old amnis of the immortal riding it. The priest had arrived.

  The gates swung open as someone spotted him from the house, and the motorcycle pulled up beside Baojia’s car. The giant of a vampire set a foot down and the earth trembled a little. He felt Natalie step closer to him and his guard went up, even though he knew the other immortal was an ally. The man pulled off his black helmet to reveal a shock of unruly red hair and a hard face. He swung his leg over the bike and stalked toward them.

  Natalie blinked. “Carwyn?”

  The vampire ignored her and growled, “Is my wife here?”

  Baojia said, “We’ve just arrived, but I believe so.”

  Natalie whispered, “Wait, B’s goofy friend Carwyn is Brigid’s husband? How many vampires do I know?”

  “Apparently, more than either of us realized.”

  “What kind of vampire wears hideous Hawaiian shirts?”

  He had to smile. “That one.”

  Grumbling under his breath in some language Baojia didn’t speak, Carwyn ap Bryn, earth vampire, former priest, and currently pissed-off husband stomped up to Giovanni and Beatrice’s home, only to be met at the door by his host. Giovanni raised his hands. “She’s here, but if you catch anything on fi

  re, youg osban’re paying for it. And no structural damage to the house, please.”

  Carwyn exploded. “One fight and she takes off on your bloody plane, Gio! She’s gone! Out of the country!”

  “Don’t yell at me, I’m not the one who married her.”

  Carwyn let loose with another string of unintelligible ranting as he rushed in the house. Baojia escorted Natalie up the walk.

  “Well, this should be interesting.”

  “I’ve never seen him that angry before. He was always the life of the party when he visited B at school.”

  “We don’t want to miss this, then.” He nodded at Giovanni as they passed him in the hall. The fire vampire also looked amused. “We’ll pop popcorn. It’s not the show the opera would be, but it should still be pretty good.”

  Her eyes widened. “But is it going to be safe for spectators? That’s the real question.”

  “I thought you liked living on the edge.”

  “I think I’ve been a bad influence on you, George.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “So you decided leaving the country was the best response? Really, Brigid?”

  The fire vampire’s reply was muffled by the walls outside the pool room, but it must have been intelligible to those with immortal ears, because Giovanni’s mouth dropped open in shock and Beatrice let out a very unladylike snort.

  Tenzin frowned as she reached for a kernel of popcorn from the bowl sitting in the middle of the hall. “I don’t think that’s physically possible.”

  They were sitting on the floor outside the pool room, eavesdropping shamelessly as the two vampires fought.

  “All I know is that if I had to listen to another one of your smug apologies—”

  Natalie heard a splash. “At least I apologize, Brigid!”

  “Stop shoving me in the pool!”

  “You were starting to smoke!”

  She leaned into Baojia’s shoulder, newly
clean and recently fed. She was happy in a way she hadn’t experienced in more years than she could count. Baojia’s arm draped across her shoulders as he leaned against the wood-paneled wall. She loved him. And she was fairly certain he loved her too, even if he hadn’t said it. It wasn’t the kind of love she’d experienced in the past. There was no giddy excitement. No rush of hormones. What Natalie had, instead, was a bone-deep sense of being exactly where she was supposed to be. Next to him, for however long they had.

  Baojia gave a low chuckle. “They enjoy this.”

  “What, fighting?” Giovanni rolled his eyes. “Yes. Almost as much as they enjoy making up.”

  Beatrice shrugged. “Carwyn does say really stupid stuff sometimes.”

  “Spending a thousand years celibate will do that to you.” Tenzin grabbed more popcorn from the rapidly emptying bowl. Most of it, Natalie could admit, she had consumed. She kept forgetting to eat hanging around with all these vampires. “We’re running out.” Tenzin reached behind her and tossed another bag to Giovanni. “More.”

  Giovanni grumbled. “We do have a microwave, you know.”

  “No, we don’t,” Beatrice said. “Brigid broke it last night. Kaboom.”

  As if on cue, the ground d at ow.shifted slightly. Natalie’s eyes widened as she looked around, but no one else seemed to be concerned. “Uh…”

  “Earth vampire,” Baojia said. “Don’t worry—the house has been retrofitted for quakes. This is one of the safest places because this wing of the house is modern construction.”

  Tenzin said, “More popcorn, my boy.”

  Giovanni ripped the plastic bag open and held the paper bag. “This is ridiculous. I’m not a kitchen appliance.”

  Tenzin clapped in delight when the kernels slowly started to pop in his hands.

  After a few minutes, Beatrice grabbed the bag. “Not too much. And it’s convenient, not ridiculous.” She kissed his cheek as Natalie heard Baojia laugh quietly.

  Giovanni glared. “Not a word from you, water boy.”

  “I bet you’re the most popular guy at the Fourth of July barbecue.”

  “I’m good at lighting all sorts of things on fire. Want me to show you?”

  Beatrice hit Giovanni’s leg. “Stop it. Both of you.”

  Natalie stifled a smile. “I bet you keep a lot of fire extinguishers around here, don’t you?”

  “I have no idea,” Giovanni said.

  Baojia said, “There are thirty-six.”

  Carwyn and Brigid were still arguing in the background. “How am I supposed to make this right when you leave the country? Should I thank you for at least leaving me a note?”

  “Maybe you should thank me for speaking to you after what you said to Deirdre.”

  “It was a joke!”

  “She’s my sire! Do I look like I’m laughing?” The ground shifted again and there was another splash.

  “How long do you think this will go on?” Natalie asked. “Has anyone talked to him about visiting the priest in Ensenada yet?”

  “We probably won’t get anything more done tonight,” Beatrice said as she grabbed a handful of popcorn. “And the night’s half over anyway. We should start fresh tomorrow. Natalie, you look dead on your feet.”

  “Told you.” Baojia tugged on a lock of her hair. “Refugees from a zombie movie.”

  “Well, before you fall asleep, I want to hear more about these hunts,” Tenzin said. She looked at Giovanni. “Am I the only one who remembers Siberia?”

  “Are you talking about Oleg’s sire?” Giovanni asked quietly. “I’d forgotten about that. He was a nasty one; I didn’t mind killing him.”

  “No, and the money was good, too.”

  She felt Baojia’s hand press into hers, trying to negate the instinctive tension. She was still getting accustomed to the casual way life and death were mentioned by these seemingly civilized people. She forced her voice to remain calm. “So this has happened before?”

  Tenzin nodded. “At times. The situation in Siberia was more clear-cut. And our work was a contract. There was a vampire who invited others over and they hunted humans who had been let loose out in the woods. Like animals in a nature preserve. It was purely for sport. And feeding, of course. We were hired to kill him by one of the many vampires he’d pissed off.”

  Her stomach turned. “But this is different.”

  Giovanni nodded. “This has more political implications. As much as it may disgust you, the vampire we killed didn’t see himself doing anything wrong, so he wasn’t trying to hide it. We were hired Wee politi for business reasons. Oleg’s sire saw hunting humans the same way that human hunters go after deer or any other game animal. Brutal to our modern sensibilities, but he wasn’t modern. He was hunting humans from his own territory on his own land. In his mind, he had every right to do it. Whoever is running these hunts on the southern side of the border, they’re keeping it concealed. Which they should, as no modern immortal leader would condone that behavior anymore.”

  “Good to know,” she muttered.

  “It’s not humanitarianism,” Baojia said. “Killing humans like that would be too conspicuous. There are more of you than there are of us. We’re still very vulnerable if our secrets get out. Plus, every immortal leader needs humans to operate in the modern world. Human employees aren’t usually keen to work for someone who views them as animals.”

  “At least not openly,” Beatrice said. “And then there’s the Elixir problem.”

  Baojia shook his head. “I don’t think they realize what it does. Not really.”

  The loud fighting had ceased behind the door, and a low urgent voice drifted down the hall. Natalie raised an eyebrow. The voice did not sound angry.

  Beatrice stood. “And that would be our cue to leave. Show’s over.”

  Tenzin pouted. “I wanted them to fight more. They’re funny when they fight.”

  Sounds of passion were quickly overtaking any fighting in volume. Natalie’s face turned bright red. “Yeah, I think we should go.”

  They all walked toward the library. Quickly. “So the Elixir complicates things because whoever is giving it to the humans wants the vampires who hunt them to die? Or do they not realize that’s what happens?”

  “I don’t know,” Baojia said. “Ivan is not easily fooled. But he is greedy and he likes power. It’s possible that he’s even doing this without the cartel’s knowledge. And I can almost promise you he’s not taking it himself. He’s too smart for that.”

  Natalie saw Beatrice and Giovanni exchange a look. “What was that?” she asked. “That look was something.”

  Baojia halted and put an arm around her. “Giovanni?”

  The fire vampire took a deep breath. “I was just thinking about Terry and Gemma and what happened in Spain.”

  Natalie was confused. “Who are Terry and Gemma?”

  “The leaders of London,” Baojia said. “And friends of mine. You think someone might be using Ivan like they did Leonor’s child?”

  She huffed in frustration. “More information, please!”

  Beatrice led her over to the library table and pulled out a map. She pointed to Ireland. “A while back, Brigid and Carwyn were both taken captive by someone they trusted. He was one of the lieutenants for Patrick Murphy, the vampire leader of Dublin. He was young, ambitious, and didn’t see himself rising in the ranks fast enough. He’s the one who first brought Elixir to Ireland. He was giving it out in clubs. Getting other vampires to take it. It weakened them so he could manipulate them. We think he was working with a supplier. And we think that supplier is the one actually making the drug.”

  Giovanni walked over. “And then recently, our friends were attacked by a child of the Spanish leader, Leonor de Peña. She’s very powerful, but her son defied her and tried to take out two of her longtime allies, Terrance Ramsay and Gemma Melcombe, then blame Leonor for the attack. Very risky move. We don’t know for sure it had anything to do with the Elixir, but we know he was working with someone els
e. And again, w. Alame Lehoever was behind it used someone relatively young and ambitious who was dissatisfied with their role in a prominent organization.”

  “Ivan,” Baojia said quietly. “You could be describing Ivan. He’s not young, but he’s younger than the leadership in Mexico City. He’s ambitious. Always hungry for more power. He’s continually pushing the cartel’s limits and then they push back. It’s not a peaceful relationship.”

  Natalie said, “So whoever is making this drug is targeting dissatisfied people within existing power structures. Take a ruler down from within, instead of an open challenge. Smart, really.” She looked up at Baojia. “Young, ambitious, and unhappy. Who does that describe in Ernesto’s organization?”

  The expression fell from his face. “Me. At one point, me.”

  Tenzin shook her head. “But you are known for your loyalty, Baojia. I don’t think anyone would believe you would ever turn on Ernesto or work against him.”

  “You’ve also been gone,” Beatrice said quietly. “Someone might have seen that as an opportunity.”

  “Rory,” Natalie said, even when she felt Baojia draw back. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but it makes the most sense. You were away. They needed someone unhappy. Ivan organizes these fights to infect vampires with Elixir. He and Rory dump the bodies on Ernesto’s land. Mexico City looks like they can’t control their vampires and Ernesto looks weak because he’s letting this go on in his backyard. Everyone is pointing a finger at someone else, then the humans get involved. It makes the news. No hiding it at that point.”

  Giovanni gave her a smile. “Very good, Natalie.”

  She shrugged. “Hey, politics is politics. I’ve been covering stuff like this for years.” She turned and looked at Baojia. He was doing the blank face again, but by this time she knew him well enough to realize it was because he was shocked. And hurt. She went over and gave him a hug, which he didn’t return. “I know he’s your brother, but you have to see we’re right about this. What’s the other explanation?”