Elizabeth Hunter - A Hidden Fire

Yes . Even if Giovanni only came for the books Lorenzo had stolen from him, maybe she could persuade him to take her, too. Surely not all of his humanity was a sham. Surely Caspar wouldn’t-

“He tries to make himself so disgustingly good,” Lorenzo mused. “So few people know the real vampire.”

“Oh really?”

“Did he ever tell you why he made me? So unlike him to make a child. I’m his only son, you know. He doesn’t care to ‘form attachments.’ That’s what he told me when he sent me away,” Lorenzo said. Though he tried to sound nonchalant, she still detected the faint edge of bitterness in his voice.

“Really?” Beatrice was having a hard time feeling sympathy for the bloodthirsty immortal next to her. “Poor you.”

“Aren’t you curious why?” he said with a glint in his eye.

“Not really.”

“That’s okay, I’ll tell you anyway.”

“Knock yourself out,” she said, closing her eyes and trying to get lost in the sound of the surf.

“It was payment of a sort. Payment for killing someone.”

“Yeah, right.”

He grinned. “He comes across as so noble, doesn’t he?”

Beatrice sat in silence, the rhythmic sounds of the waves enveloping her.

“But our Giovanni isn’t nearly as virtuous as he’d like everyone to think. He wasn’t always a mild-mannered book dealer. He’s really quite vicious. And self-centered. Did he tell you he used to be a mercenary?”

She snorted in disbelief as Lorenzo continued. “Yes, he made a lot of money doing that. He was one of the best in the world. He killed many humans.”

“Right.”

“Ask him yourself, the next time you see him.”

She finally sneered. “Because that’s so likely, isn’t it?”

He grinned, pleased to have finally sparked a reaction in her.

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

She sank back in her chair, determined not to react to him again. He left shortly afterward, his interest in her dying along with her temper. He seemed disappointed by her defeated demeanor, but Beatrice had lost the will to spar with him.

The next day, she didn’t leave her room.

She didn’t leave it the day after or the day after that. And as the days stretched into weeks, she slowly shrank further and further into her protective shell.

South Aegean Sea

July 2004

The three vampires rode the wind, the smallest propelling them forward as they swung lower toward the unnamed island in the South Aegean Sea. Tenzin hovered for a moment, her sharp eyes darting over the layout of the fortified mansion cut into the grey cliffs, scanning the patrolling guards and visible access points.

She looked to the red-haired man clutching her left hand. He nodded; then, concentrating his energy on a small, rocky outcropping that peeked from the water, slowly pulled the rocks up from the floor of the ocean, creating a small platform where they came to rest.

All three were barefoot, and when Carwyn’s feet touched the rock, it seemed to pulse and swell under him, growing taller and elevating them just under edge of the cliff. Giovanni cocked his head, listening to the sounds of revelry above. As he listened, a thin human body was tossed over the edge of the cliff, landing directly at their feet.

Giovanni stared into the empty gaze of the discarded girl, narrowing his eyes and clenching his jaw, but letting the anger swirl around him until his bare torso and arms glowed with blue fire. His thick hair was cropped and his eyes were cold; he stood at attention, nothing less than the ideal warrior his sire had molded when he turned him five hundred years before.

The wind whipped around them, but Tenzin had wrapped them in a protective cocoon, blocking any trace of their scent from the guards above.

“Carwyn, do you remember?”

He nodded, his blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “I’ll find her. And judging from the feel of these rocks, I should be able to tunnel under them until we reach the beach on the north side of the island.”

“Get her away from here and out of the fire,” Giovanni said in a low voice as his skin swirled with contained blue flames. “She’s my first concern.”

“I’ll protect the girl. You two take care of the rest.”

Giovanni nodded, and Tenzin grasped Carwyn’s hand and took to the air, leaving the fire vampire glowing like a blue torch on the rocky outcropping.

He took deep breaths, crouching down and focusing his energy outward and away from his body. He meditated on the flames, feeling the powerful hum as they coursed over him. Every flare off his skin made him stronger, and he closed his eyes as he balanced on the heady edge of control.

“Father, will there always be war?”

“What did Plato say?”

“He said, ‘It is only the dead who have seen the end of war.’”

“And if there is to be war, what is our role?”

“Victory.”

“And nothing less.”

He looked up when Tenzin landed next to him, her soft clothes fluttering in the wind. She held out her hand and he pulled back the flames to clasp her palm in his.

“Carwyn said he could smell her close to where we landed. Give him a few minutes and he’ll send a signal.”

Giovanni nodded and took a deep breath as he knelt to wait.

Carwyn scuttled along the edge of the cliffs, the ancient rocks of the Aegean coast reaching out to meet his bare hands and feet as he climbed along the face of the cliff. He could see the guards patrolling the trail that connected the rooms of Lorenzo’s compound, but he was searching for the chamber where the girl’s scent was strongest. He’d caught a hint of her as he landed, and he followed her trail farther to the end of the cliff where it was strongest around one room.

Reaching out with his senses, he could hear the faint sound of a human heartbeat and a murmur as if someone was talking in their sleep. He crawled nearer to one closed door.

“Dad…no. Don’t want…no, Gio…”

She was inside the room, and she was having a nightmare. Waiting for the turn of the guard, Carwyn leapt onto the trail and rushed the door. He punched through the metal with ease, his two fists spreading and peeling back the steel door that held her.

Beatrice woke with a gasp, bolting up in bed. “No!”

Carwyn held out a calming hand. “There now, darling girl. Just me. Just old Carwyn.”

Her pale face crumbled. “Am I dreaming?”

He shook his head, but held a finger to his lips when he heard the rush of guards coming back down the trail, drawn to the sound of wrenched metal from the door. With a wicked grin, Carwyn decided he would be more than happy to take care of a few of Lorenzo’s minions before he got Beatrice to safety.

“Get your things.” He winked. “I’ll be right back. Don’t leave the room.”

She nodded and he saw her start to climb out of bed. She was reaching for the dresser when he left the room and ran directly into two guards.

“Hello, dead men.” He smirked before he grabbed the first, ripping into his neck with thick fangs and whipping his head around to silence him. At the same time, he grabbed the other with lightening quick reflexes, crushing his throat so he couldn’t make a sound. He spat out chunks of the first vampire’s windpipe before he threw the second the ground and stepped on his throat. With a quick turn of his powerful hands, he tore off the head of the first guard and tossed the remains over the cliff, into the ocean below.

Picking up the second guard, he wasted no time, twisting his head off like a screw-cap and tossing him into the ocean to join his partner. He paused for a moment to listen for any others approaching, but heard nothing but the howl of the wind. He was dripping blood from his mouth and chin, so he tore off his shirt and wiped his face, so he didn’t alarm Beatrice.