The Elemental Mysteries: Complete Series (110 page)

Harmless flirtation was the furthest thing from her mind an hour later when she finally handed the spear back to Baojia. He had demonstrated the hook swords, or
shuang gou
for her, knocking the long wooden spear from her hands at a distance when he hooked the two lethal weapons together to demonstrate their reach. The spear had splintered in her hands as she held it, and she was more determined than ever to learn to wield the complex weapons, no matter what Giovanni thought.

Baojia was encouraging and smiled a little as they put the weapons away. “You’ll be ready within a year after you turn, I think. Given what you are learning now and your natural aptitude for weapons, you will be ready to wield these as soon as your reflexes catch up with your mind and your amnis.”

“What do you mean, ‘catch up with my amnis?’”

Baojia shook his head. “It’s impossible to explain to a mortal. Even a bright one like you would not understand it.”

She grimaced. “Oh, well, I guess I should be flattered you’re willing to teach a mere mortal like me anyway.”

“Yes.” He smiled and walked behind her to stretch her arms. “You should be. I usually don’t bother with humans.”

“So why me? Ernesto’s orders, huh?”

She couldn’t see him as he lifted her arms, stretching them before they moved into hand-to-hand combat practice.

“Why you?” he murmured. “What an interesting question…”

That I notice you’re not answering.

“Yeah, well, I’m Miss Popular for some reason. Even the bad guy wants to hang out with me.”

He lifted her arms, running a hand down her tricep to knead it. His fingers were cool and strong against her sore muscles. “I told you not to worry about Lorenzo. Take a bath later. Soak your arms, or they will be stiff.”

She cleared her throat. “Well then, I’ll just put all those icky thoughts about murdering him out of my pretty little head, won’t I?” She pulled her arms away and walked across from him. They bowed and began practicing. Baojia never
really
hit her. Not like Tenzin. He seemed more interested in teaching her how to attack. If he did manage to land the odd blow, he usually apologized very formally.

“You should leave killing him to Giovanni or Tenzin. Or me, if he threatens you.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

He frowned as if she was speaking Farsi, which was on her list of languages to learn after she turned. Come to think of it, she thought, it was entirely possible that Baojia already spoke Farsi.

“Why should you leave killing Lorenzo up to Giovanni, Tenzin, or myself? Because he’s a vampire and you’re not, foolish girl. Don’t kill yourself by being an idiot.”

“Now there’s the kind of sweet talk I expect,” she grunted as she struck his shoulder. She went to land a kick, but he grabbed her leg and held onto it.

“I’m serious, B.” He waited until she met his dark eyes. “Don’t think you can challenge him. Compared to Giovanni or myself, he’s not that strong, but he is
very
smart. He’s a survivor, and in our world, strategy counts as much as strength.”

She scowled at him. “It’s not like I’m going to go hunt him down right now. Let’s just say it’s… on my list.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Does Gio know you have a list?”

Did he?
Probably. She often thought Giovanni could read her mind, he knew her so well. Baojia and Beatrice went back and forth for a few more minutes until she heard the practice room door open. His scent reached her nose even before she turned.

“Hey,” she said, and a smile spread across her face.
Now there was a distraction.

Giovanni leaned against the wall of the practice room. He had changed into a pair of loose, black pants and a shirt that hung open at the neck. The sleeves were rolled up, and Beatrice could see the muscles of his forearms as he crossed them over his chest and watched her.

He smiled at her, a languorous, easy grin that made her insides melt. His eyes raked over her flushed body, and she felt her heartbeat pick up.
The things that vampire could do with a single smile…

He curled a finger, beckoning her. Beatrice walked toward him, making another list in her mind, when Tenzin darted into the room.

“Stop right there.” Tenzin held up a hand and nodded toward Beatrice. “You, practice. You”—she glared at Giovanni—“I told you not to distract her. You’ll get her back later. She needs to work.”

Giovanni narrowed his eyes, while Beatrice scowled. “Tenzin,” she said, “I don’t like you very much right now.”

“Nor do I,” Giovanni muttered. “Ignore her. You’ve practiced enough for one night.”

Tenzin pulled his collar. “She has not.”

“I really think…” Beatrice pouted when Tenzin shoved Giovanni into the hallway. She turned to see Baojia watching her with a smile. “What?”

“Options,” he almost sang as he picked up a long, wooden pole and tossed it toward her. “Always good to have options. Now, let’s talk about the staff.”

Chapter Nine

Mount Penglai, China

September 2010

“The water vampire is interested in Beatrice.”

Tenzin snorted. “Which one?”

Giovanni glared at her as they walked through the palace grounds. “You know which one I’m speaking of.”

“Well, Baojia is interested in her. Lorenzo is interested in her. I think half the palace is fascinated by the strange American girl, so you might want to specify.”

He stopped and watched her as she hopped along the top of a carved stone wall. “You know, I forget how irritating you can be when I don’t spend time with you for a while.”

She flew over him, stepping on his head once before she lit on top of one of the giant, limestone pillars. “I hate it here.”

“I know you do.”

“You know how you feel about Rome?”

“Yes, Tenzin.”

“That’s how I feel here. Everyone looking at me with expectations.”

“I know.”

“And my father is the worst one.”

“He cares about you.”

“That is… debatable.”

He continued walking as she flitted from one stone to the next. Finally, she set herself down on the grass to walk beside him. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

“Of Baojia? Not really, it’s just irritating.”

“She loves you very much. She wants to be your mate for eternity.”

He eyed her tiny form as she walked next to him. “And what of you and Stephen? I confess,
 
that—”

“Stephen and I are none of your business. Just because you confide in me does not mean I confide in you, my boy.”

He paused. “Who
do
you confide in, bird-girl?”

It was often hard to imagine how long she had lived, but when Tenzin turned her deep grey eyes on him, Giovanni saw millennia in her stare. “No one. I confide in myself alone.”

He had the strange urge to embrace her, which he had never once done in all their years as friends. “Are you lonely sometimes?”

She tilted her head and smiled. “I don’t remember.”

Giovanni shook his head and continued walking. “I am glad that Beatrice and Stephen have this time together.”

“He missed her very much. Family is very important to him.”

“It has become important to me, as well.”

“Family was always important to you. Why else would you look for your uncle’s books for so many years?”

“I suppose that is true.”

“You were always looking for a family. Now you have one. It is good for you.”

A familiar drift of amnis wafted on the breeze, and he turned his head. Lorenzo was walking with Zhongli Quan and a group of six guards. The Elder nodded toward them with an unreadable expression in his eyes before he turned. Two of the guards followed him while four stayed with Lorenzo as he approached Giovanni and Tenzin.

“If it isn’t my father and his miniature companion.”

The black-clad guards halted abruptly. They looked toward Tenzin with wide eyes, but she only waved at them and shrugged.

“Lorenzo,” Giovanni said, “you’re becoming even more foolish as the years go by.”

“Why? Is she going to attack me here? I have been promised protection, just like you. Penglai is neutral ground; we both know it.”

Tenzin’s eyes were impassive as she stared at Giovanni’s son. “You are irritating, and it will be good when he kills you.”

Lorenzo’s fangs flashed in the lantern light. “Do you think so? I think we are a long way from my father killing me. After all, we both know I have information he wants.”

How much Giovanni was willing to put up with to get his sire’s library back was debatable, but he wasn’t in the mood to confide in the blond bastard in front of him.

“Go away and do something useful, Lorenzo,” he said. “Never mind, that’s probably not possible.”

“So sullen,
Papà
. Where is your toy human? Has she taken another lover again?”

With one sweep of her arm, Tenzin blew the four guards halfway across the grounds before she rounded on Lorenzo. She lifted the vampire by the collar and shot into the air.

“Be careful what you say about my friend, little boy. You may think you are safe here because it is customary to respect the Elders, but do not forget that my sire is the oldest of all. And while I may bow to his wishes at times…” She dropped Lorenzo a few feet before grabbing him again. “…in general, I am a
very
disrespectful daughter.”

She spoke just loud enough for Giovanni to hear. He noticed that Zhongli’s guards were taking their time walking back across the grounds, and Lorenzo’s dangling form was beginning to attract attention.

Giovanni smiled and sat on a bench to wait.

“Let me down.” Lorenzo was trying to sound nonchalant, but Giovanni could hear the quiver in his voice.

“Fine,” Tenzin said and she dropped him. His son landed in a heap at his feet before he shot up and walked back toward Zhongli’s guards, never sparing Giovanni a glance. Tenzin flew down and sat next to him.

“You really need to get rid of him.”

“I know.”

“What were you thinking?”

“It’s a long story.”

Giovanni watched Beatrice pace their bedroom, recounting in detail the different weapons she had tried in practice that night. It was a few hours before dawn, and he could tell she was exhausted. But still, her heartbeat was jumping.

“—and then I tried the other spear, and it kind of had this hook on the end, too. Like on the side? And it was a lot lighter than it looked, something about the way the shaft is balanced or something, and then there was the
shuang gou
. Oh, Gio, I can’t wait to learn those. Baojia said that once I turn—”

“Which may be unnecessary. We don’t know yet.”

She only rolled her eyes and continued. “Yeah, so once I’ve turned, I’ll pick up the hook swords no problem.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Really? He said, ‘no problem?’”

“Well, he said something about my body catching up with my amnis… or my amnis catching up with my mind. Something like that, but after that, he said I’d pick it up easily.”

Giovanni thought she was probably being optimistic, but he had to admire her enthusiasm. He smiled. “Well, even if it takes some time, it sounds like you’re getting a good idea of what options you’ll… what?”

She had turned red in the face when he said the word “options.”

“Beatrice?”

“What?”

He didn’t know what. It was strange, but she almost looked…

“Why are you blushing?”

“I’m probably just… tired. You know, I should take a bath and go to bed, I’ve—”

“You’re not just tired.” He frowned. For a brief flicker, she had looked… “Why do you look guilty?” He felt his temperature begin to rise.

Her mouth dropped open, but there it was again. Just a hint in her eye.

“I do not look guilty.”

“You do.” He sat up. “And your heart is racing. Why? Did Baojia do something inappropriate?” While he knew the vampire was interested in Beatrice, Giovanni could not imagine him acting inappropriately toward Ernesto’s favored granddaughter. Nor did he think that Beatrice would be unfaithful, but…

“No! No, Baojia was just… kind of flirting. That’s all.”

“Flirting?”

“Yeah.” She waved a hand. “He was joking about ‘knowing your options’ about weapons and, you know, there’s some kind of obvious jokes and… yeah, just being silly.”

“Silly?”

“Why do you keep repeating the last word of everything I say? That’s annoying.”

He couldn’t keep the smile from his mouth. “Annoying?”

She picked up a pillow and threw it, hitting him dead in the face as he started to laugh. “We were just joking around!”

“I believe you, so why are you throwing things at me?” He couldn’t stop chuckling at her consternation. “You’re very cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed. I’m irritated.”

“At Baojia?”

“At you!”