A Hidden Fire

Chapter Twenty-two

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.

“‘The wicked shall see me and grieve,’” he murmured as he wiped the gore from his body. He glanced at the churning ocean. “‘They shall gnash with their teeth and melt away.’”

When he returned to the room, Beatrice was dressed in strange white clothes, and her hair was pulled back from her face. She was thin, almost inhumanly pale, and her hair was different. She ran to throw her arms around him, and he felt her tears hot on his chest.

“I hoped,” he heard her whisper. “I didn’t know, but I hoped you’d find me.”

He pulled back and looked into her face, framing her cheeks with his hands and kissing her forehead. “He moved heaven and earth to find you, darling girl.”

He saw her eyes shutter at the mention of his friend, and he frowned.

“We have to go now. They’re waiting for my signal.”

“How-”

He turned and crouched in front of her. “Stories will have to wait. Climb on my back and hold on tight. I’ll need my hands to get out of here, so I can’t carry you. You have to make sure you hold on.”

“Okay.”

“No matter what happens.” He looked over his shoulder. “Keep your head down and hold on to me until I let you down or Gio takes you off, do you understand?”

“Yes!” She glanced at the door. “Please, can we go now?”

He grinned when he felt her climb on his back and grip his neck. Her legs swung around his waist like a child.

Patting her leg, he said, “Ready to go?”

“I’ve been ready for weeks.”

He strode from the room with Beatrice clutching his back. Walking over to a column of stones the size of an old Greek pillar, he gave a mighty shove and pushed the pillar into the ocean. There was a brief pause before he saw Giovanni’s blue flames flare higher as he and Tenzin took to the sky.

“Remember.” Carwyn grinned. “Hold on tight.”

He felt her gasp when the ground beneath his feet opened up and swallowed them.

Giovanni watched as the grey rock tumbled into the surf. He could hear the shouts of the vampires above as they rushed to investigate the disturbance. He met Tenzin’s steady eyes.

“My boy, is there anyone we need alive?”

Giovanni glanced at the dead girl who lay at their feet.

“No.”

He grasped her hand and she leapt, pulling him with her as she took flight.

They landed on the edge of the cliff and Tenzin raised her arms, sending a great rush of wind into the open salons where Lorenzo held court. The vampires inside were stunned into momentary submission and Giovanni and Tenzin separated to begin their assault.

Lorenzo’s guards spotted them, and no less than fifteen ran toward them, but as each approached, Tenzin reached out a small hand, capturing them in a swirling vortex of air as she lifted them into the sky. With a flick of her small hands, she grabbed half of them, flinging them toward Giovanni, who paused to toss roiling flames into each small whirlwind.

The captured vampires screamed and twisted as they burned in midair, lighting up the dark sky until their charred bodies turned to ash, and they drifted into the sea.

Giovanni took out the rest with a wall of fire he forced into a corner of the room. The guards tried to run, but were cornered by the flames. Their inhuman screams tore through the night air, as some of Lorenzo’s guard ran toward them, and others fled into the rocks.

Tenzin and Giovanni worked together in brutal concert, capturing and annihilating each vampire that came at them until most ran in the other direction or fled to the churning water.

But as they leapt, Giovanni noticed the sea began to grow, pulled by an unseen force as the waves crashing at the base of the cliffs rose until they spilled over and flooded the luxurious rooms. The humans in attendance, who had been cowering away from the assault of fire and wind, started screaming and rushing toward the interior doors.

From the corner, Giovanni caught a flash of blond hair and Lorenzo’s grin as the water vampire manipulated the ocean toward them.

“I see him,” he yelled to Tenzin.

“Go!”

A stinging rain began to beat upon his back, dousing the fire before he could fling it at his son, and he saw a large wave surge over the edge of the cliff where it grabbed Tenzin before she could take to the air. She disappeared from view, and he stalked toward the corner where he had seen his child.

“Lorenzo!” he roared, striding toward him. Giovanni heard a demented giggle before his son pushed a panel in the back wall, and a door slid open. He ducked into a dark passage which must have led further into the cliffs. A surge of new guards attacked then, and Giovanni no longer had the ready flames at his fingertips.

He was twisting the head from one attacker when he felt a slashing pain across his chest. He looked down to see a bullet wound that had glanced off. He tossed the dead vampire to the side and grabbed the human holding the gun by the throat. With one quick toss, he flung him into the churning ocean before he turned back to the rest of the guards.

He hadn’t seen Tenzin in a few minutes, and he cursed, knowing that if the five thousand year old wind vampire had any weakness, it was fighting in water.

He battled on, grabbing the rest of his attackers with long arms, pulling the guards to his fangs so he could rip and shred their throats. One by one, he twisted their heads from their bodies and tossed them on the ground, batting away the last of the humans who tried to defend their masters.

Most who came at him appeared to be water-born, but none of them had the strength of Lorenzo. The most they could do was keep him from building up any more flame as he crossed the room his son had soaked with a wave.

Giovanni paused when he got to the passageway, searching for Tenzin as he turned, and grunting in relief when he saw his old partner. She was perched on the edge of the cliff, darting over and around her attackers as she ripped at them with her talon-like fangs and tiny hands. She moved so quickly he could barely track her, but she paused in midair to meet his eyes.

“Go! Find him,” she yelled before grasping two vampires by the necks and swinging them around until their bodies detached and sailed into the sea. Though her attackers were all larger, no vampire he had ever seen could overpower Tenzin in combat, and Giovanni had no fear she would fail to best the few determined guards that tried to defend their fortress.

“Go!” she yelled. “He’s getting away!”

He nodded and ducked into the passageway, sniffing the damp air when he came to a turn. His path led him down twisting corridors until he smelled the ocean again. Listening at a heavy door where Lorenzo’s scent had ended, he could hear the sound of a boat engine start up. He tried to push through, surprised when it would not budge.

The mystery was solved when he saw sea water leaking from under the edge. He realized Lorenzo must have walled off the door with ocean water, which meant there was a lagoon somewhere in the caves that led to the open sea.

He would never break through the wall before Lorenzo could escape, so he rushed back up to the cliffs, yelling at Tenzin as he ran.

“Boat! He has a boat, Tenzin.”

She nodded and sank her teeth into one more neck before she tore her mouth away, dripping with blood and sinew from her opponent’s throat.

She saw Giovanni running toward the edge of the cliff and started toward him.

“Catch me!” he yelled, as he flung himself over the edge.

She swooped down and caught him by the waist, grabbing his legs with her own as she flew them down to the base of the cliffs to search for a crevice where a boat could escape.

“It could be anywhere,” she yelled. Giovanni could feel her struggle as she concentrated on keeping the air currents flowing around them so they stayed aloft.

“The cliffs only dominate the southern portion. It has to be here.”

His eyes roamed over the dark cliff face, searching for the telltale flash of white from an emerging boat.

He heard it before he saw it; the black craft ripped out of the small cave, but its dark surface camouflaged it in the black sea. His ears followed the sound until his eyes caught the churning, white wake as it left the bay and sped toward the open ocean.

“Speed up!”

“I’m trying!” she yelled. “I would have fed on one of the humans if I knew I would be flying this low.”

The lower she flew, the more energy Tenzin expended keeping them in the air.

“Just get me closer,” he yelled. “I’ll try to stop the boat.”

He tried to build enough fire in his hands and arms, but the ocean air was thick and misty, dampening his energy when he tried to create a spark.

“Here!”

He snarled when Tenzin stopped abruptly, but calmed down when he saw her draw a cigarette lighter out of her pocket. Catching the flame, he coaxed it into a substantial fireball, and they sped off, cutting through the air toward the quickly disappearing boat.

“We’re not going to catch him, Gio.”

“Yes, we will!”

The trail of wake was getting farther away.

“Speed up, Tenzin.”

“Gio-”

“Faster!”

“We can’t catch him, my boy,” she shouted over the wind.

He shouted every ancient curse he knew.

“Throw your fire. Try to catch the boat.”

“I’m too far.”

“Aim better!”

He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the small boat in the distance and aiming toward Lorenzo’s white shirt he could barely see flapping in the wind. With a great roar, Giovanni flung the ball of fire toward his son and he felt Tenzin halt, throwing out her hands to speed the flames toward the distant vampire.

It grew and sped, finally finding its target, and Giovanni heard Lorenzo scream briefly before the flames engulfed him. He could see his son’s clothes catch fire, and the flames burned his hair as Giovanni watched Lorenzo’s skin slowly char to black.

The boat continued speeding through the water, but the water vampire stumbled to the side, flinging himself into the ocean where he sank out of sight.

He could feel Tenzin sag as she held him, and he bit into his own wrist, holding it up so she could drink and regain her strength. He flinched when he felt her curled fangs dig deep into his arm.

Soon after the first draw, he felt her strength returning, and they rose toward the shoreline. They landed in a heap on a grey outcropping to watch Lorenzo’s black boat speed empty into the distance, its pale passenger still alive, and somewhere on the bottom of the ocean floor.

“We’ll never find him in the water,” Tenzin said.

“No.” He cursed internally. “And he knows it.”

“He’s not dumb, your son.”

“No, he’s not.” He curled his lip, narrowing his eyes as he searched the waves, though he knew Lorenzo could stay under the water for days, possibly longer, regaining his strength, safely cocooned in his element.

“Will he come after her again?”

“He’ll be recovering for a while-years from the damage I saw. With his vanity and those burns, we may not see him for quite some time.”

“But we will see him again,” Tenzin said.

He shook his head and closed his eyes in frustration.

“I have no doubt.”

“Another day, my boy. You’ll get him another day.”

He had to smile at her cheerful tone. For anyone as old as Tenzin, a few years was no time to wait.

“Is that a prophesy?” he smirked. “Or just experience, bird girl?”

She winked at him. “Maybe a bit of both. Now, let’s go find your woman.”

He tensed, simultaneously nervous and desperate to see Beatrice again.

“She’s not my woman.”

The small vampire laughed. “She will be.”

Across the island, Carwyn and Beatrice pushed through the softer soil of the northern coast and emerged from the earth. Tunneling through the sheer rock of the southern cliffs, then the softer rock of the northern hills had been one of the strangest experiences of Beatrice’s life. They had moved as if they were in a small bubble, the rock and soil parting in front of them, only to form again behind them as they maneuvered north. Every now and then, Carwyn would change direction, telling her they needed to avoid tree roots, or an underground stream. She clung to him throughout the journey, often burying her face in the back of his neck to avoid falling debris.

She looked like a cross between a monkey and a miner when she emerged, still clinging to Carwyn’s back. Beatrice slipped to the ground and both of them brushed soil from their faces and cleared their throats.

“And that’s how you travel earth-vamp style, Beatrice. Ready for that seaside cave in Hawaii yet?” Carwyn said as he coughed out dust. They walked toward the water, sitting down on the slope of a hill that led to the ocean.

Suddenly, she burst into laughter, which quickly turned to tears, the weeks of tension and fear overflowing as he put a comforting arm around her. Carwyn didn’t tell her to stop or calm down, letting her release the horror of her captivity as he held her in his comforting embrace.

Eventually, he rubbed small circles on her back as she leaned into him, her tears creating small rivulets on his dust-covered skin.

“I thought I would die there. I thought you had forgotten about me.”

“No.” He cleared his throat. “Never, darling girl. We didn’t forget about you.”

She sat sniffing next to him, trying to compose herself. She wiped the tears from her eyes, smudging her face with streaks of salty mud.

“So, what’s happening? Where do we go from here?”

“We’re supposed to meet the destructive duo here, and we’ll swim out to that boat and sail away.” He pointed out into the water and she could barely make out the frame of a sailboat off in the distance. “How well do you swim?”

She snorted. “Not that well, but I guess I’ll manage.” She looked down at herself. “I might go wash some of this dust off. I’m filthy.”

“Good idea.” They walked down the hill, Beatrice enjoying the stretch of her legs and the beautiful sloping beach in front of her.

“So, B, what’s with the all-white makeover?”

“News flash: Lorenzo is a sick, creepy asshole.”

Carwyn halted and placed a hand on her shoulder. “He didn’t-”

“No,” she shook her head. “He didn’t touch me. Just lots of mind games.”

“Gio said he wouldn’t,” Carwyn muttered.

She clammed up at the mention of the vampire who had yet to arrive.

“I think,” she paused and looked around, “I needed to stretch my eyes more than anything. I thought that room would be the last thing I’d see.”

“Welcome back,” he said with a smile.

They splashed into the water, Carwyn leaping like a dog before he stood and shook, droplets flying everywhere as he gave a joyful roar. Beatrice closed her eyes and sank down into the warm Mediterranean, caressing the tiny pebbles beneath her, letting her head slip underwater as she floated in the surf. She stretched and twisted, enjoying the natural buoyancy the ocean provided her sore muscles. Finally, she walked back up the beach and sat next to Carwyn to wait for her other two rescuers.

“Did it take you a long time to find me?”

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. “It took a while to narrow down the island. And then…it’s kind of complicated. You should probably ask Gio.”

She ignored his last statement. “How long has it been? I don’t even know.”

“Six weeks.”

She took a deep breath and frowned, trying to remember what day that would make it.

“It’s the last day of July.”

“Right.” She nodded. “Right. Is my grandma okay? Does she know what happened?”

“Isadora and Caspar are fine. Worried about you, but fine. Gio told them you had been taken, and-”

“But, I wasn’t taken.”

“What?”

She turned to him with hollow eyes. “I wasn’t taken, Carwyn, I was traded.”

His face fell. “Beatrice, you need to talk to Gio-”

“No, I don’t.” She shook her head. “I appreciate you coming to get me, but let’s not pretend it didn’t happen. Whatever his reasons, he traded me for what he thought was more important.” Her voice was hoarse as she stared into the water, but the set of her shoulders was fixed.

“Hey,” he said, leaning forward to try to catch her eyes. “I know you’re resentful, and I understand why, but you need to listen to me.”

She dragged her gaze to his, and she was reminded how ancient Carwyn ap Bryn was behind his boyish charm. His blue eyes bored into hers, and his voice was low and even.

“Whatever you may be feeling right now, you need to remember this: No one goes to war for a pawn.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks and she looked away. She saw him shake his head from the corner of her eye.

“You don’t know…he’s been wrecked with worry for you. The worst I’ve seen in three hundred years. Please believe that.”

She choked out, “I’m not saying you would lie to me-”

“I’d never-” he cleared his throat, “never lie to you.” He paused. “But he would. Gio would.” He ducked his head down and forced her to meet his eyes. “If he thought it was necessary. If he thought it would keep you safe, I think he’d lie to Saint Peter himself.”

It was too much. She shook her head, exhaustion beginning to creep up on her.

“I don’t understand, Carwyn. And I don’t want to talk about this…or about him.”

His eyes were pinched with worry. “Don’t you love him, B?”

The echo of the crashing waves tore at her. “Not anymore.”

Carwyn said nothing, sitting next to her as she stared at the small boat in the distance. Soon, she heard the whisper of voices in the wind, and she braced herself.

Tenzin and Giovanni dropped to the beach and he stepped toward her, his eyes guarded when she lifted her gaze. She squinted, barely recognizing him. The forbidding soldier in front of her, wearing charred black cargo pants and slick healing burns across his chest, bore little resemblance to the polite academic who had charmed her in the university library. His hair was shaved close to his skull and his eyes were wary. Beatrice thought he looked like one of the busts of the Roman generals she had seen in museums. He looked as if he had just come back from a war.

“No one goes to war for a pawn.”

He stood in front of her, waiting for a few moments before his composure cracked and he pulled her up and embraced her, clasping her to his chest as he buried his face in her neck and inhaled. His arms wrapped around her in an almost vice-like grip, and one hand cradled the back of her head.

Tears filled her eyes, but part of her wanted to grab onto him, and the other part wanted to strike him, so she stood confused and motionless in the circle of his arms.

He lingered for a few moments, but could not have missed the fact that she did not return his embrace. He took a step back, smoothing her limp hair from her face, brushing at the tears on her cheeks, and inspecting her from head to toe as Beatrice stared at the slowly healing burns on his chest.

“No problems getting here, Gio. Everything according to plan,” she heard Carwyn murmur.

Giovanni nodded, his eyes never leaving her, and motioned to the small woman behind him. “Beatrice, this is Tenzin. She will fly you out to the boat; Carwyn and I will swim to meet you. Will that be acceptable?” he asked gently.

Beatrice glanced at the small woman, who really looked more like a girl. Tenzin had a friendly smile and curling fangs showing behind her lips. She glanced over her shoulder at Carwyn, who nodded reassuringly, so she held out her hand.

“Hi, I’m B.”

“It’s good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Tenzin grasped her hand, and Beatrice noted the delicate, cool flesh, just slightly warmer than Lorenzo’s hands.

“You too. Thanks for helping get me out.”

“My pleasure.” Tenzin grinned, and Beatrice couldn’t ignore the blood stains that caked the front of the small woman’s shirt. Tenzin caught her looking, but only gave a shrug.

Beatrice blinked and looked across the ocean. “You can carry me to the boat?”

“Just hold my hand, the wind will carry us.”

A small smile flickered across Beatrice’s face. “Really?”

“Really.” Tenzin nodded. “Let’s get out of here. It’s damp.”

Beatrice nodded and looked for Carwyn, but her eyes were caught by Giovanni’s penetrating gaze.

He was standing at attention, staring at her, his arms behind his back and his shoulders square. She had the sudden disarming impression that he was hers to command, and an unreadable expression filled his green eyes.

“Whenever you are ready, Beatrice.”

Turning back to Tenzin, she held out her hand.

“Let’s go.”