The Elemental Mysteries: Complete Series (163 page)

He drew himself up, almost as if she had insulted him. “It is my belief that those who have power have a responsibility to—”

“It’s good! I’m not saying it isn’t. It’s nice to meet someone who’s not completely self-interested. But the thing is, this formula is not safe. And she knows it.” Actually, Beatrice had no idea whether Livia knew the effects of the elixir on amnis, but that didn’t matter. Getting Livia out of power was more important. “We think it’s a poison, Emil.”

He looked skeptical. “Why would she want to poison her own people? I know she’s not benevolent, but it’s hardly in her best interests to kill all of them.”

“We’re not sure, but we’re trying to find out what,
exactly
, it does.”

He sighed. “Beatrice, I like you. I think Livia is a bad leader. And I believe your claims against Lorenzo. In fact, after Tenzin’s speech, I’m fairly sure all of Rome knows that he murdered your father, but the fact remains that Livia has many allies. Allies here and abroad. She has done many favors for many people in her two thousand years. Unless those people decide to cut her off…”

“Well,” Beatrice said quietly. “I guess we’ll just have to make them realize that it’s time for a change.”

Emil crossed his legs and leaned back in the seat. He tapped his fingers restlessly on one knee as he glanced between Beatrice and the lights of the Eternal City that flashed past the car. He was silent until they pulled up to the Pantheon. Beatrice heard the driver get out and walk around to open her door. It opened, but Emil grabbed her hand as she was climbing out.

“You’re right,” he said. “You’re right. Change is good. Change is… necessary.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”

Beatrice whistled as she walked up the street and watched Emil’s car turn the corner. She had just made her most important ally.

Chapter Twenty

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

July 2012

Giovanni stepped out of the telegraph office tucked into a corner of the Kapana district and strolled up the cobbled streets. Summer nights were warm in Plovdiv, and pedestrians crowded the walkways of the neighborhood on their way to the clubs and restaurants of the graceful old town. Bulgaria’s second largest city, and one of the oldest in Europe, had enjoyed a surge of prosperity since the last time Giovanni had visited. Like much of Eastern Europe, the city had always maintained a fairly high immortal population, with Lucien Thrax being one of its oldest inhabitants.

He and Carwyn had received a polite, if muted, reception from the vampire who ran the city after a letter of introduction from the old Thracian had paved the way. Their business in town was not questioned, which was all Giovanni wanted. If everything went as planned, they wouldn’t be in Bulgaria long.

He caught the red of Carwyn’s hair against the dark green wall of an outdoor cafe. The former priest was drinking a glass of plum
rakia
and writing a letter at a small table. A smile flirted at the corner of his mouth. Giovanni sat down next to him and Carwyn tucked the letter under the edge of his book.

“Who were you writing, Father?”

Carwyn smiled. “I told you—“

“I’ve been calling you that for three hundred years, Carwyn. I’m not going to just stop, you know.”

“Fine, but I may stop answering.”

Giovanni chuckled. “So?”

“What?”

“Who were you writing?”

“None of your business.”

“You are quite the mystery lately.”

The vampire shrugged and sipped the fruit wine. “What’s so mysterious? I decided that a thousand years of service to the church was enough. After all, when I took my vows, I was only expecting to live forty or fifty.”

“I’m not questioning your decision, my friend.” Giovanni cocked an eyebrow. “Are
you
?”

Carwyn smiled and looked over at the fountain that trickled in the small square and the flow of young people that passed by. “No. I’m not going to deny it feels a bit odd, but I’m at peace about it. I’m… excited. It’s a new chapter in life. There are going to be some changes for me.”

Giovanni nodded. “So, is this the immortal version of a mid-life crisis?”

Carwyn snorted and waved over a young man to order two more glasses, then he turned back to Giovanni. “I blame the girls, you know.”

“Why?”

“I’m warning you, never make daughters. You raise them. Give them hundreds of years of guidance and love, and then they think they know everything. Try to tell you what to do. Very irritating.”

“What? All of them?”

“Not Carla, thank God, but then, she never speaks to anyone but me and Gus. No, it’s the rest of them, Gio. They plot against me.”

Giovanni smiled, thinking of the most likely culprits. Deirdre, Isabel, and Gemma may have been scattered around the globe, but he had no doubt the three sisters could gang up on their father if they put their minds to it.

“I’ll keep that in mind. No daughters. Have you told anyone else yet?”

“Other than the cardinals? No.”

“How did they take it?”

“How do you think? Officially, they weren’t pleased. But they can’t say anything when,
officially
, I’ve never existed in the first place. Besides, I’ve always been an oddity. Most immortal priests were turned from the Roman church and have far more respect for the Vatican.”

Giovanni slapped his friend’s shoulder and thanked the waiter, who set down the wine. “You’ll be fine. This is good. You’re right; it’s a new life. I’m excited for you. So, who were you writing a letter to that you needed to hide it?”

Carwyn just grinned and took another drink. “Our friend is still inside with his wife. They look like a lovely couple, if I do say so. In no way does he resemble a minion of Satan.”

“The best minions never do.” Giovanni turned his eyes toward the large windows of the restaurant where Doctor Paskal Todorov was dining. It hadn’t been difficult to track down the chemist or the cosmetics factory, but they had decided they needed to question the director to find out precisely what he knew before they destroyed the factory.

“He seems like a nice enough fellow. It’s possible he has no idea who he’s in business with.”

“Considering that it’s Livia, it’s likely that he’s completely unaware. She’s never been very forthcoming.”

“Particularly with humans.”

“True.”

Carwyn grimaced. “I’m beginning to feel bad about destroying the factory.”

“Start another one and hire him to run it. It’s not like you don’t have the money.”

“I’m not—”

“Don’t lie.” Giovanni shook his head. “You were always sketchy about that ‘vow of poverty’ thing. Don’t even pretend you don’t have the funds tucked away.”

Carwyn’s only response was a wicked grin. “Now, what kind of vampire would I be if I didn’t tuck a bit away?”

“None. So, don’t feel bad about the good doctor; you can always give him another job. Most likely, he’ll find another on his own anyway.”

“Fine.”

The two vampires waited. Watched. The chemist ate a leisurely meal with his wife before they saw him finally stand and start toward the door. Carwyn threw a few euros on the table to pay for the wine before he and Giovanni stood and started following.

They allowed the humans to turn down the street leading to their home before they approached. It was late enough that most of the street was quiet, and Giovanni couldn’t detect any observers.

“Doctor Todorov?” he called out. The doctor turned, frowning at the two casually dressed men who approached him. “Aren’t you Paskal Todorov?”

“Yes? Can I help you?” the doctor replied in English.

Giovanni smiled warmly. “Forgive the intrusion, but I believe we have a mutual acquaintance in Rome.”

“From Rome?” The human was clearly confused, but must have sensed no danger from their approach. He stood patiently as Carwyn and Giovanni walked toward them.

Carwyn immediately approached the doctor’s wife and held out a hand in greeting. Giovanni held out his hand, as well. “Yes, I believe you know my associate, Lorenzo.”

As soon as Giovanni’s hand met Todorov’s, the amnis flooded over him. He glanced to the left, and Carwyn was quietly engaging the wife in some pleasant chitchat she was completely oblivious to.

“Paskal Todorov, do you know a man named Lorenzo?”

“I know a Lorenzo Andros. He works for my company in Rome. He has inspected the factory.”

Right on the first question,
he thought. Giovanni curled his lip, annoyed that Lorenzo had used his father’s name in his business dealings.

“And what are you producing at your factory, Dr. Todorov?”

“It is a cosmetics formula. A serum of some sort. I believe it is intended to combat aging.”

“I see—”

“But it is dangerous.” A frightened look came to the chemist’s eyes, and Giovanni knew that he was tapping into the doctor’s unconscious thoughts about the project. Possibly, thoughts he wouldn’t even recognize.

“Why do you say it is dangerous?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Did Lorenzo say it was dangerous?”

“He is not a trustworthy man.”

So, not a minion after all. Giovanni wondered if, confronted with the truth, the doctor would voluntarily shut the factory down. Was it worth taking a chance to keep Livia in the dark about their actions? The minute the factory was destroyed, she would probably be aware that Giovanni was behind it. Could they shut it down without alerting her?

He looked over at Carwyn. “Keep the wife occupied, but don’t make it obvious. I’m going to talk to him.”

Carwyn nodded and began to ask the doctor’s wife about local sightseeing while Giovanni lessened his influence over the chemist. Todorov blinked at him when Giovanni released his hand.

“Yes, Doctor, as I was saying, the health commission has some concerns about this cosmetic serum. And I’m sure you can understand our reluctance to make our concerns public. It’s not an immediate health threat, but we do need your cooperation.”

“Oh… of course.” Todorov still looked confused, but amenable, and Giovanni knew that the doctor’s human instincts, even as dull as they were, had picked up some danger from Lorenzo. “But… who did you say you were with?”

“It’s a joint inquiry between our two countries. No one wants to make the concerns public as we do our investigation, but it is vital that we control the output.”

“Oh… of course. I did understand that the trials had positive results. Were there problems I was unaware of?”

Giovanni thought back to Lucien’s story that Carwyn had related on their drive to Bulgaria. “The immediate testing did have positive results, but there are some concerns about long-term use of the product.”

“I see, I see.” Todorov reeked of worry. “I do hope the commission knows that all proper procedures were followed by our labs. Our chemists are some of the finest, and I would hate if—”

“Your facility is not under scrutiny, Doctor Todorov. We know you manufactured the product in good faith.”

The doctor looked sheepish. “In all honesty, the formula… well, it was unusual. But since all the components were botanical in nature—and Rome was very strict about quality—well, it was unusual, but not enough to worry me. Not really. Though…”

“Yes?”

“I did think it odd, Mr.…”

“Rossi. Doctor Guiseppe Rossi.” He took out his wallet and flipped it open, brushing Todorov’s hand to create the illusion of impeccable credentials in the human’s mind.

“Of course, Dr. Rossi. I did think it odd that the office in Rome was so insistent on security for the factory. Any time you have employees, there can be theft, but they were most persistent in their measures. I even had to hand count the first shipment to ensure that the product was completely accounted for.”

A chill spread over his skin and he heard Carwyn’s friendly voice falter.

“What shipment?”

“The first shipment of Elixir. It went out on the trucks last week, Doctor Rossi. It’s on its way to Rome right now.” Todorov frowned. “I… I thought you knew.”

They stared over the boxes containing the blood-red liquid. It was packaged in frosted glass and deluxe, gold-trimmed boxes with ELIXIR stamped on the outside. The small vials held no more than half an ounce. According to Lucien, a few drops was all it took. A few drops to cure a human being of ravaging cancer. A few drops to weaken a three thousand-year-old immortal in a matter of months.

“We destroy it.” Giovanni picked up a box, almost cringing just to touch the plain brown cardboard.

“We’ll drive out to the country and you can burn it. Can you destroy it fast enough to eliminate flames and ash?”

“There will be ash, but we’ll try to contain it.”

Carwyn nodded. “And make sure we don’t breathe any of the smoke.”

“Agreed.”

“Thank God they haven’t made more than this.”

“They made enough for one shipment, Carwyn. A shipment that’s headed toward my wife and our friends.”

“Do you suppose there’s any way it’s detectable?”