“It’ll be a perfect resting place for you,” he said, “as long as you don’t mind crawling inside.”
It was pretty small, but then so was Tenzin. She grinned and handed him her cup of tea, then slipped through with the practiced ease of a cat burglar.
“Comfortable in there?”
“It’s cozy.” She stuck her head through and he handed her the tea. “There is a fan. It’s well ventilated. Completely lightproof.”
“Good.” He knew she could take care of herself, but he still hadn’t liked the idea of her in the more easily accessed back while he was sleeping. “Escape routes?”
She pulled back, and he heard her shuffling around. “One in the floor and… if I had to, I could punch out the welds on this wall. They’re not solid.”
“Of course they aren’t,” he muttered. “You do realize that this is Cheng’s truck. He knows that compartment is there.”
“I don’t sleep, Benjamin.” She stuck her head through the hatch. “I’m hardly vulnerable during the nighttime, and I’m not worried about humans during the day.”
“No?”
“Cheng doesn’t trust anyone who can be manipulated by amnis.”
“Ah.” Please don’t get chatty about Cheng.
She disappeared back into her bolt-hole. Ben locked the truck doors and cracked the windows, thankful that the air in the mountains was cool and dry. Stuffing a duffel bag under his head, he stretched out as much as he could. His knees were bent, which he knew he’d pay for in the morning, but he didn’t have many options.
“I may not trust Cheng,” Tenzin continued in a muffled voice, “but he’s still quite possessive. He might try to kill me, but he wouldn’t let anyone else do it in his territory.”
“Sounds like a lovely relationship.” He kept his eyes closed and mentally begged her to shut up.
“Relationship is not a way I would describe it.”
I don’t want to know, he mouthed silently.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen him.”
“Good night, Tenzin.”
“Good night.” She reached through the hatch and squeezed his hand. The spark of amnis was unmistakable.
“Tenzin did you—”
“You need to rest.” Her voice was muffled by the steel compartment and the fog of sleep that was quickly descending.
“Tiny, I…”
The world around him turned feather soft.
He heard her whisper, “I would have you rest easy, my Benjamin.”
It was the last thing he heard before he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
Despite Ben’s fears, the two-day drive to Kashgar was uneventful. Save for the near-constant griping of his travel companion, Ben almost found it relaxing.
“You are a terrible driver,” she muttered as he took another hairpin turn.
“I’m not. I’m actually a very good driver.” He was a good driver. He’d known how to drive a car since he was ten and though Gio had never allowed Beatrice to see them, he’d driven his uncle around long before he had a proper license.
He didn’t really enjoy freaking her out. But the upside of Tenzin being a curled ball in the seat beside him was that she wasn’t letting her curiosity get the better of her. This was a newer truck and vampire amnis would short out the dashboard if she tried to mess with it.
“You’re going to make the truck crash.”
He laughed. “You’re funny.”
“No, I’m not. I’m…”
“You’re what?” He chanced a glance over, only to see her sitting precariously in the seat, lifting herself in the air every time they went over a bump, clutching the small handle over the door. Her face was still and her teeth were clenched.
“You’re scared,” he said, shocked by the sudden realization. Tenzin wasn’t scared of anything. Not really. She was often cautious, but scared?
“Do you realize how utterly defenseless you are in this vehicle? It is not a van, it is a giant trap.”
“How many exits?” It was a game they often played. Tenzin asking him how many ways out of a room or random location. Ben quickly giving her all the available exits, with her usually adding one or two more.
Tenzin said nothing.
“Come on, Tiny. How many exits?”
“None!”
“Wrong. Kick out the front window. One. Break open the side doors. Two and Three. Moon roof.” He rapped on the overhead hatch. “Four. In this small a room, four exits is more than enough.”
Tenzin glanced speculatively at the moonroof. “It opens?”
He put a hand up and popped it open. It wasn’t automatic, but the plastic joints gave easily, allowing a quick suck of air into the cab. He could see Tenzin relax almost immediately.
“Four,” she said. “That is sufficient.”
“More than sufficient. After all,” he said, flicking his eyes toward the now-easy vampire, “you really only need one.”
“I wouldn’t leave you behind if we fell over a cliff,” she said, neck craning to look over the edge of the road through the mountains.
“That’s comforting.”
“Unless it was you who drove us over the cliff. Then you’d deserve it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Another city, another eerily quiet warehouse. Someday, Ben would write a book—probably a very short book—on how universal most cities were. Yes, they all had their quirks, but on the whole, he found them to be startlingly similar. Smells changed the most. This time, when they opened the door, the earthy smell of vegetables met their nose. Ben could see crates stacked on one wall of the warehouse Tenzin directed him toward. He’d pulled into the warehouse and barely stopped before Tenzin burst out of the vehicle, flying up to the rafters of the warehouse and perching there like a very large bird.
“Tenzin?”
“Just let me sit up here for a while.”
“Take your time.” He went to close the giant door of the warehouse. Light was sucked out of the room as the door rolled closed, but he could hear Tenzin fluttering in the rafters as she stretched her legs.
“You’re going to have to find lodgings,” she said. “There’s not enough time to start tonight. Cheng’s man said there is a motorbike in the warehouse somewhere.”
He stood, looking up at her and frowning. “So you want me to just run out and find a hotel—”
“Not a hotel. Anyone local will be watching hotels.” Her dark eyebrows furrowed together. “What do you call the place where the backpackers sleep?”
“A tent?”
“No, where they go when they’re not camping.”
“A hostel?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “Use one of those. There are probably several, and they are less likely to be watched. Find one near the old city.”
“But don’t you—”
“I’ll stay here,” she said. “Plenty of room to fly and the windows have been blacked out.”
“Are you sure?” He couldn’t see a thing in the warehouse. There was a small light over the door, but once he’d rolled down the door, the space had been plunged into darkness. He had no idea how he was going to find this motorbike Cheng’s man had mentioned if he couldn’t even—
He tripped over something in the darkness, smashing his shin.
“Ow,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Found the bike?”
“Yes.” More like, the bike had found him. And it wasn’t a bike. It was a scooter. “Tenzin, I don’t like the idea of leaving you here.”
She found a light near another door and flicked it on. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to illuminate the warehouse with a grey light.
“Why not?” she asked. “There is plenty of room to kill anyone who comes after me and you need a bath.” She flew down in front of him, her nose slightly wrinkled. “Really. A bath. At once.”
He pushed a hand through her tangled mop of hair. “You’re looking lovely, too, my delicate Himal
ayan flower.”
Tenzin laughed, the full-bodied burst of sound he loved to hear.
“Okay,” Ben said. “I’ll go out and find something. I have my phone.”
“No hotels.”
“No hotels.” It looked like there were a few hostels in the old part of the city. “I’ll manage. The scooter is mine?”
“Yours. Try not to drive it off a cliff.”
“Did I get us here in one piece?” He threw a backpack over his shoulder. It was packed with a change of clothes and a few other essentials. Good thing he traveled light, since his suitcase wasn’t going to fit on the rickety old Vespa. “Where do you want to meet tomorrow night?”
“I’ll find you,” she said. “Get some sleep.”
The thought of stretching out, even on a hard Chinese mattress, was appealing. He gave Tenzin a quick nod, then pushed the scooter out the door, into the familiar unfamiliarity of Kashgar at four in the morning. A quick look at the map on his phone, and he was off.
Tenzin watched him go, amused by Benjamin’s ease on the bike. In the city. Everywhere.
He was an easy travel companion, one she didn’t have to worry about taking care of himself. A chameleon who slid into any situation with ease, he was as comfortable in a back-alley bar as he was in a five-star restaurant. Giovanni had given him part of that, but much of it was simply Ben himself. And though the young man avoided troublesome situations with the caution of a hardened street child, he now had the body and skills of a warrior. Years of training had seen to that.
His reaction to Cheng had been… odd. She couldn’t decide if it would be problematic yet, so she didn’t spend much mental energy on it. Nevertheless, he had made himself notable, and Kesan would be sure to mention his presence to Jonathan, if not to Cheng himself. Tenzin didn’t often travel with humans, so they would tuck the knowledge away, possibly for use at a later time.
Whether Ben drew more attention to himself beyond a passing notice would be something they would have to discuss. Cheng had a habit of considering Tenzin “his” when she was in his presence, and Ben needed to be able to ignore it. Had he been surprised by the idea of her having past lovers? That was amusing. She was five thousand years old. A practical vampire. Lovers could be an excellent way to pass time. She was choosy and discreet, but by no means did she ignore that part of her life anymore.
Tenzin had Cheng to thank for some of that. It was the reason he was allowed his presumption of claiming her. Cheng knew he was audacious, but he winked and smiled his thief’s smile. Then she would laugh and allow him to steal her for a time.
Tenzin enjoyed his boldness, though even her amusement had limits. Their intimate relationship was mostly in the past, though Cheng had been more than open about his willingness to rekindle it if she ever desired. She’d never known whether his interest was political or personal. It was probably both, and she could hardly blame him. The canny immortal leader was well aware of her status at Penglai Island and had more than once flaunted their relationship to tweak her sire. Cheng enjoyed rubbing his success and newly amassed power in the face of the Elders. They were everything old about China, and he was everything new. He reveled in their annoyance.
It was that energy and ambition that had attracted her in the first place. Cheng was so very alive. And when they had been together, Tenzin allowed herself to feel the same way. It was Cheng she’d fled to after Stephen had died. Cheng who had welcomed her black presence and asked no questions, no matter how many crowded his eyes.
Yes, her gratitude to the pirate extended rather far.
How long had it been since she’d taken a lover? Certainly not in the time she’d been in Los Angeles.
Perhaps Ben had been surprised.
No matter. He would have to conquer his own reactions, though the fiction she’d created for Kesan would do for now to explain any odd responses the young man continued to have. Ben being her human paramour was a useful lie, so they’d continue it while they were in China, even though the necessity of it annoyed her.
Tenzin wasn’t ready for Benjamin to make himself notable yet.
That would come in time. Like Giovanni, he would have to make himself feared if he wanted to live in any kind of peace in their world. But though he was young, she had seen the flashes in his eyes. Seen the grim determination against an opponent. He would never be a man to seek out violence, but he did not shrink from it. He had killed his first man when he was only sixteen. Killed the human in defense of a friend. An honorable first kill. Tenzin held his hand when he grieved his loss of innocence.
He’d only shed tears once.
Benjamin Vecchio would be a formidable immortal. This ridiculous need to cling to his humanity annoyed her.
She spoke her will into the still night air. “He is young. We will change his mind.”
Ben stretched out on the bed, which he’d dragged to the window overlooking the street. He propped the blinds open and listened to the morning call to prayer as it echoed down the narrow street in the old city. Though part of the new reconstruction, the neighborhood still held the flavor of the mud houses he’d seen on the road into town. So much of the old city was being demolished to widen roads and create safer housing. He hoped the character of this unique place could remain, because he already loved it.
It smelled of dust and roasted mutton. Bread and sesame hung in the early morning air. He closed his eyes against the grey light and took a deep breath. The tentative morning sounds started when the call to prayer died down.
As the city started to wake, he dozed.
He’d woken the young Chinese man who ran the hostel with a friend, begging a place to stay for a few days and offering enough yuan to make it worth his time. It was a hostel, but Ben had a private room and a bath, so he couldn’t complain. It was basic, but comfortable. And the quiet courtyard outside his room was lined with low tables and rugs. A comfortable place to remain anonymous.
Plus, you could never complain about free Wi-Fi.
He closed his eyes and dropped off to sleep. When he woke, it was already dark, and Tenzin sat in the window, perched on the wide ledge. He wondered if she’d flown up to it and if anyone had seen her. She made a picture, sitting there, her tangled braids wild from the wind. Black tunic and leggings. She was darkness in vampire form, her face the pale moon against the black night of her hair.
Ben reached under his pillow and grabbed his phone, snapping a picture of her before she could object.
“Don’t.”
“Too late.” He hid the phone under the sheet that covered him from the waist down. “Did you fly?” he asked, his voice rasping with sleep.
She shook her head. “Dropped from the roof. The roofs here are wonderful. Very easy to run across. If they don’t fall in when you land on them.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Just avoid the older ones,” she said. “You were tired.”
He stretched up his arms, then absently scratched the line of hair that ran down the center of his stomach. “Exhausted.”
Tenzin cocked her head. “You have grown so tall. I forget sometimes that you cannot curl up as I can. The truck must have been uncomfortable.”
“It was fine. I’m not that tall.”
“Far taller than me.”
He was. But then Tenzin was barely five foot.
“What’s the plan?” He grabbed his shirt from the floor by the bed where he’d dropped it and held it to his nose before he grimaced. Nope. Wasn’t going to get another day out of that one. The drizzle of a shower last night had cleaned his body, but his clothes were another matter. There were clotheslines in the courtyard, but he didn’t know if he had time to do laundry.
“We can walk to the house from here. We’ll have to sneak into the old town. Only residents are supposed to go in there.”
“Is it that dangerous?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll see. There’s no question it will be demolished when the government finally gets to
it, and the cache is buried beneath a house. It must be moved. There is no telling what the condition of anything will be.”
He rubbed his eyes and started to think practically. “Transportation?”
“We won’t be able to get a truck in, but we might be able to pay some locals to help us. Handcarts and the like.”
Ben shook his head. “Nothing goes without one of us accompanying it. You saw the crates in back of the truck. What’s your estimate?”
“To pack everything?” She mulled it over. “I think… ten. They can’t be too heavy because we’ll have to carry them.”
“That’s it?”
Tenzin grinned. “The most valuable things are often the smallest. Size is no guarantee of quality.”
He left that one alone. She probably wouldn’t get the joke anyway.
“Okay, so we could carry things out with a large cart. I’m guessing small, but heavy. How far to a main road?”
“Not far. A few blocks only. I’ll find a driver and… persuade him to stay with the truck while we’re loading everything up.”
“Persuade” likely meant she’d brainwash one with amnis. He didn’t have the inclination to argue. To accomplish this, they’d need all vampire tricks available.
“Okay, so tonight we’ll—”
“Grab the crates from the warehouse.”
“We crate up the gold,” Ben said, “then haul it to the truck.”
Tenzin nodded. “I’ll stay with the truck through the day. You stay here and enjoy a human-sized bed as long as you can. We can leave tomorrow night.”
“Fair enough.” There was something he wasn’t… Damn it, why did she always have to hit him with stuff when he was sleepy or distracted? She did that shit on purpose.
“It’s settled.” She leaned toward the street. “I’ll give you a few minutes to—”
“Wait!” He rubbed his eyes, racking his brain for the tail of the problem he’d detected. There was something…
“Anyone local will be watching hotels…”
“Tenzin, who’s the VIC here?” It was his own shorthand for Vampire In Charge. Because there was always a vampire in charge. Some areas had quiet vamps who looked the other way on pretty much anything. Other areas had micromanagers. But if there were people and resources, there was a VIC. And Ben had a feeling that this far west, it wasn’t Cheng.