This Same Earth

Chapter Twenty-Three

Houston, Texas

May 2010

“Caspar, do you take Isadora to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

Giovanni felt his heart give a quiet thump as Caspar and Isadora exchanged the vows they had chosen for their ceremony. As it turned out, it was Stephen’s presence the two had been waiting for, but when Beatrice and he had returned from Brasilia and given them the news that Stephen remained out of reach, Isadora had nodded in understanding and called her friend Marta’s husband to perform the simple ceremony.

Judge Voorhies stood in the beautifully lit gardens of the house in River Oaks, standing under the gazebo with the bride and groom as a few of their closest friends watched the early evening ceremony.

Caspar wore his best charcoal grey suit, and Isadora looked stunning in a deep green dress that set off her beautiful eyes and silver-white hair. He glanced to his side to see Beatrice watching them both with a smile. She squeezed his hand, and he smiled before drawing her closer and kissing her temple. His eyes returned to the bride and groom in the garden. To say he was pleased for his old friend would be an understatement.

After a few more heartfelt words, Isadora and Caspar turned to the group with a smile.

“Caspar and Isadora chose a short reading from the Song of Songs, chapter four. ‘You have stolen my heart, my darling, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace…”

Giovanni leaned down, whispering the same sweet words into Beatrice’s ear in soft Italian.

“I still don’t speak Italian,” she whispered.

He only smirked. “You will.”

“‘How delightful is your love, my darling, my bride, how much more pleasing is your love than wine,’” the judge continued. “And I think we all know, as much as Caspar loves wine, what a truly bold statement that is.”

Giovanni smiled as their friends laughed around them and Isadora and Caspar met each other with a sweet kiss. The judge pronounced them husband and wife. Giovanni and Beatrice smiled, Ben gave a little whoop, and the group clapped before going inside to share a meal.

Ben raced in circles, almost knocking Beatrice over in his enthusiasm. The boy had been ecstatic to see them both when they returned from South America, though he’d tried to play it off nonchalantly. He was bouncing with excitement and chattering nonstop about getting back home. Giovanni realized it was going to be a rather complicated discussion.

He was almost sure that Stephen had gone to China. The more he and Beatrice studied the journals the vampire had left behind, the more he became convinced that Stephen had sought the help of one far more ancient. The knowledge was both a comfort and a concern.

He was also growing more certain that Lorenzo had somehow discovered Stephen’s plan. All indications from Jean Desmarais and his contacts seemed to indicate that the vampire was heading to the Far East. He was brought back to the present by Beatrice’s arm around his waist.

“Hold on to those deep thoughts, love. Not for tonight, okay?”

He looked down at the woman beside him. Beatrice had pulled herself up from the disappointment that ambushed her in Brazil and dove into research, trying to recreate her father’s library in the hopes that the books Stephen had chosen to study would give her insight into the manuscript Lorenzo was so keen to recover.

“What?” she asked with a frown.

“I love you very much, Beatrice. I’m very fortunate to have you.”

She blushed and bumped his arm with her shoulder.

“Yeah, you are. I love you, too.” She paused for a moment, then pulled him down for a quick kiss. “You’re getting sentimental in your old age, Gio.”

He chuckled and bent down to kiss the top of her head.

“Must be the weddings.”

“So-” She grinned as they walked toward the house. “-how are you feeling? Your oldest is finally married off. Soon Ben will be dating…”

He clutched his chest dramatically. “I shudder to think.”

“You’re going to be an empty-nester soon.”

He snorted. “They grow up so fast.”

“They do,” she said with solemn nod.

He could feel her laughing at him for a moment before they both started chuckling.

“Is Carwyn going to be pissed off they didn’t wait for him?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think so. He’s fairly busy at the moment.”

“Back in Ireland?”

He nodded. “Deirdre is…coping. But he needs to be there right now.”

They walked in silence, strolling hand in hand through the gardens lit with tiny lights. Giovanni could see the gathering of friends through the French doors, spilling out across the patio. The scent of honeysuckle and roses hung in the air.

His eyes found Ben as the boy gave Isadora a hug and a sweet smile. Caspar leaned over them both to place a kiss on his new wife’s cheek. More than ever, Giovanni felt the weight of responsibility to keep them all safe. He wouldn’t be able to remain in Houston for long. He felt Beatrice squeeze his waist, and his heart thumped again. At least, he would no longer travel alone.

“‘You have stolen my heart, my darling, my bride,’” he whispered again as he pulled her closer.

Beatrice was also watching the group inside. Ben darted through the adults, who were all laughing and enjoying the plentiful wine that Caspar poured for the well-wishers.

“How are we going to keep them all safe?” she asked in a small voice.

“We’ll figure something out.”

She looked up at him, steely determination in her eyes. “We have to.”

He found her reading later that night, half asleep in the library as she studied one of Stephen’s journals in front of the cold fireplace. Their company had left hours before, but the house still hummed with quiet activity. Caspar and Isadora were in the kitchen, finishing the wine and enjoying their time together after a busy day. Ben had finally collapsed on the couch in the den, and Giovanni had carried him to his room before making a call to Carwyn on the phone in the study.

“Beatrice,” he whispered, picking her up and setting her on his lap. “Why don’t you go to bed?”

She looked at the clock over the mantle. “But it’s only one a.m.”

He smiled, amused by her convenient habit of keeping vampire hours. “It’s been a long day. You should get some rest.”

“Is Ben in bed?”

“Mmmhmm.” He ran his lips along her temple.

She paused, and he could feel her head nodding against his chest. “Maybe I will.”

“Or just stay here. I could probably find a way to distract you.”

He felt her shoulders shake with quiet laughter. “I’m sure you could. How is Carwyn?”

“Doing well. He says hello, and he won’t hold it against Isadora and Caspar for too long that they got married without him.”

“I’m sure they’re relieved.”

“He also said that we had better not pull something like that.”

She snorted and raised an eyebrow. Giovanni just shrugged. She snuggled back into his chest.

“Have we heard from Tenzin yet?”

“Not yet.”

“How about…what’s his name?”

“That could take some time. Zhang Guo and his court operate on their own timetable.”

“He’s older than Tenzin?”

He chuckled. “Oh yes.”

“Wow.”

“I don’t want to go to China until we know more. It’s not in our best interests to arrive without some sort of introduction.”

“But we will go.”

“Yes, I think we must.”

“What are we going to do about Ben?”

He sighed and shifted on the couch. “I don’t know. I don’t like leaving him, but the safest place for him to be is away from us. Lorenzo has already discovered him; I don’t like the idea of leaving Caspar and Isadora here alone with him when we know he’s a target. Then there’s Dez and Kirby in L.A. I think we should speak to your Grandfather Alvarez and-”

She pulled him down and stopped the rambling list with a kiss. Slowly shifting on his lap, she continued kissing him until he forgot about the worries swirling in his mind and all he could think of was her soft skin, sweet mouth, and the feel of her hips under his hands. She ran her fingers through his hair and along the back of his neck, searching for his heated skin as her hands slipped under his collar.

“Tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow.”

“Beatrice,” he groaned. “Careful, tesoro. I’m getting…hot. The fire-”

He broke off with a groan and his eyes rolled back as Beatrice’s teeth found his ear and bit the lobe between her teeth.

“Gio,” she whispered. “I need…”

“What do you need?”

He pulled her closer as she murmured in his ear and rocked against him.

“You guys are so gross.”

They both froze when they heard Ben at the door.

“Benjamin, why aren’t you in bed?”

“Are you guys going to be doing that stuff all the time now? ‘Cause I really don’t need to see that.”

“Benjamin,” they said in unison. Beatrice moved to crawl off Giovanni’s lap, but he held her in place, shifting and clearing his throat with a meaningful glance.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Ben whined before stretching into one of the armchairs. “I think I drank too much Coke at the party.”

“Remind me to forbid that beverage when we get home,” he muttered.

Beatrice curled up against his chest again, and he tried to distract himself as he played with the ends of her hair.

“Are we going home soon? I miss L.A.”

“You miss your basketball hoop,” Giovanni said.

“And the neighborhood girls,” Beatrice added.

“Well,” Ben thought for a moment. “Yeah. I miss those. But I missed you guys, too.”

Giovanni smiled at the sleepy boy stretched out in the chair next to them. Ben had a happy, contented look on his face, and he immediately began nodding off again.

“I think he missed his Uncle Gio,” Beatrice whispered.

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I missed him, too.”

They sat for a few more minutes, enjoying the quiet.

“Benjamin?” he asked. “Are you asleep?”

“No, what’s up?” The boy sat up in his chair.

“We should talk.”

Ben’s face fell a little before being replaced by a determined expression. “Because you’re going to leave again?”

Giovanni frowned and felt Beatrice squeeze his arm.

“It’s okay,” Ben said. “I get it. I know Lorenzo’s still out there. And you haven’t found B’s dad yet.”

Beatrice said, “We don’t want to leave you again, Ben.”

“But you have to.”

The boy met his eyes and Giovanni was both relieved and saddened by the understanding he saw there. If he could, Giovanni would wipe away the sad memories that colored the young man’s childhood, but he knew it wouldn’t be fair. Just as his own childhood had shaped him, so would Ben’s. He only hoped he and Beatrice could make life a little easier in the end.

“So,” Ben sighed and seemed to rally himself. “What are we gonna do? Am I gonna stay with Caspar and Isadora here? If we do that, can I get a basketball hoop before you go?”

He smiled at the boy and nodded. “Yes, Benjamin. I will make sure you have a basketball hoop.”

“Who’s getting a basketball hoop?” Caspar asked as he entered the library.

“Ben is. That way, when he stays here while we are traveling, he will not be deprived of his greatest love. The girls, however, he’ll have to see to himself,” he said as Ben did a small victory wiggle in the chair.

“Ben’s staying here?” Isadora came in behind Caspar. “But when will you leave for Asia, Beatrice?”

“We don’t know, Grandma. We’ll stay as long as we can, but we want to make sure you and Caspar and Ben are safe in case we need to leave quickly.”

“We’re still waiting for word from Tenzin. She should be able to smooth channels for us,” Giovanni said quietly. “As for security-”

“Caspar,” Isadora said. She gave him a look before linking her hand with her new husband’s. Caspar smiled down at her and nodded before he turned to Giovanni and Beatrice.

“Isadora and I have been talking about this. As much as we love this house, we feel like we need to move to Los Angeles with the rest of the family.”

Giovanni blinked when Caspar said, “family.” He looked from Ben’s sleepy face to Isadora’s warm smile. His eyes paused on Caspar for a long moment before he looked back to Beatrice, who was watching him with loving eyes. His arm tightened around her, and he felt his heart thump twice. Giovanni suddenly realized it was exactly what they were. For the first time in over five hundred years, he had a family.

A fierce wave of protectiveness swept over him, and Beatrice ran her hand over his jaw, soothing him as the heat rose to the surface.

“Yes,” he said hoarsely, “the family should stay together.”

“And if everyone’s in L.A., Matt can keep an eye on things if we have to leave,” Beatrice said quietly.

“Don’t forget Ernesto,” Giovanni added. “I’m sure he would be as pleased to meet your grandmother as he was to meet you, tesoro.”

“Are you kidding?” she snorted. “Grandma’s way more charming than me. Ernesto will love her.”

Caspar only nodded. “So, that’s settled then. Who wants a drink?”

Isadora chuckled and began a rapid-fire conversation with Beatrice in Spanish about the Alvarez clan while Caspar moved to the sideboard to pour drinks.

“So everyone’s moving to L.A. after all?” Ben piped up. “Sweet!”

A strange peace settled over him as he began to plan, strategizing to ensure the well-being of the four people who had become, quite unexpectedly, more important than anything else in the world.

He and Beatrice would go to China in search of her father and the manuscript, but Lorenzo was still a threat. Luckily, with the help of his contacts in Los Angeles, he would be able to ensure the best protection for Caspar, Isadora and Benjamin.

Beatrice would go with him, adding her keen intellect to his own as they worked toward solving the puzzle of Stephen De Novo, the missing manuscript, and what his son was trying to accomplish by taking them both.

Giovanni heard the phone in the back of the library start to ring. He frowned at Caspar, who went to answer it.

“Hello? Tenzin, my dear!” Caspar paused as Beatrice’s eyes swung toward his. They both rose from the couch and walked to the phone.

“They’re right here…yes, here you are.”

Giovanni picked up the phone, holding it away from his ear so Tenzin’s voice did not deafen him.

“Gio!” he heard her clearly. “Is B there?”

“Yes, did you get our e-mail?”

“E-mail? I never check that stuff.”

Giovanni frowned at Beatrice, who only shrugged.

“Gio?”

“Still here, bird girl.” Everyone was looking toward the back of the room as he spoke.

“Can you tell me why I’m getting a summons from my sire to meet him at Mount Penglai?”

Giovanni’s heart sank. It was happening much faster than he’d anticipated. He looked at Caspar and Isadora, then at Ben’s wide eyes from across the room. Finally, he looked to Beatrice, who reached out to grasp his hand. He took a deep breath.

“We’ll meet you there.”