The Elemental Mysteries: Complete Series (99 page)

“So, what? Tenzin’s really important, then?”

“Tenzin could be one of the Elders if she wanted,” Baojia said. “Unfortunately for them, she’s too smart and has too low a tolerance for bullshit.”

“She’s older than most of them, Beatrice. And far more powerful.”

“And her father’s one of the main guys? Is he a good guy?”

Giovanni glanced back to their pilot. Though he was smiling and looking straight ahead into the night sea, he knew the vampire was memorizing their every word.

“Elder Zhang Guo is a great and powerful immortal. We are fortunate that he chooses to see us. He is deserving of great respect.” He nudged her shoulder when she frowned at his rote answer, and she looked up at him. Giovanni made sure she caught the long look he gave the unknown vampire out of the corner of his eye, and he saw her mouth part as she nodded in understanding.

“I’m looking forward to meeting him, then,” she said in a cheerful voice. “And to seeing Tenzin. It’s been weeks since I’ve talked to her.”

Giovanni smiled. Beatrice had proven to be a natural at the more political side of his life, and there was no way their pilot had missed the implied intimacy between the legendary wind vampire and the young human woman.

The sky had become strangely overcast, and a swirling fog covered the surface of the sea the farther they sailed away from the mainland. He glanced to the side to see Baojia curl his lip. The water vampire lifted a hand to reach out in front of him and, with a broad sweep of his arm, brushed the fog away. The dark blanket parted to reveal a great, glowing mountain, rising out of the water. Its stone walls were lit with golden lamps, and a wide avenue curled around, leading to a large palace that spread across the summit. The whole island shone like a jewel in the moonless night, and Giovanni could feel the energy rolling out from it in waves.

“The Elders do like their fancy castles,” Baojia said as he stared at Penglai.

Giovanni turned to him. “You really didn’t want to come here, did you?”

Baojia shook his head.

“I thought you were Chinese,” Beatrice said.

“I’ve been an American far longer than you have, Beatrice De Novo.” He curled his lip again as he stared ahead. “There’s a reason I was willing to enslave myself to the Pacific Railroad in order to leave this place.”

Giovanni glanced back at the silent water vampire who piloted them. Baojia caught his look, but only shrugged, seemingly unconcerned to make his opinions public.

They entered a small bay and approached the dock that reached into the ocean. A crew of humans met the junk and tied it up before helping them off with quick movements and near-constant smiles.

The sounds of Mandarin filled the air, though the humans looked to be a mix of ethnicities from all over China. Giovanni pushed the humans back to help Beatrice off the boat and up the walkway, only to be met at the road by two hand-drawn carriages that were pulled by even more human servants. He tossed their small bags into one, which Baojia boarded with a quick nod, then Giovanni helped Beatrice into the second, and they started up the cobbled road toward the castle at the top of the hill.

Taking advantage of the weak human ears, Giovanni whispered to Beatrice in English.

“Remember what we talked about. Be very cautious what you say or what you commit to when talking with anyone. You are taken at your word here and must always follow through or you will lose face.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful.”

“And remember, everyone will smile. Even if they want to kill you, they’ll do it with a smile to your face and a knife to your back.”

He felt her begin to tremble and he pulled her closer.

“I won’t ever leave you unless I absolutely must. Trust me and Tenzin. No one else.”

“And now I’m scared.”

Giovanni was too, and he hated bringing her into such an unknown situation, but he knew that the possibility of open conflict on the sacred mountain in the middle of the sea was also very low.

“Don’t be scared. Be smart. You’ll do fine. Just remember, everyone has an agenda.”

He tucked her head under his chin and stroked her hair. A part of him wanted to force the carriage around and take her back to the safety of the plane, but he knew that running was no longer an option. Lorenzo had forced their hands with Ioan’s death and Beatrice’s abduction. Giovanni was convinced they had to find her father and the book he carried if they were ever going to end this.

Their carriage approached the grand gate to the Temple of the Eight Immortals. Two giant stone lions guarded the steps leading to the entrance and Baojia waited nearby. He held a hand out for Beatrice and helped her down when the carriage came to a stop. Two human servants in dull brown robes rushed off with their bags, and the carriages sped away, leaving the two vampires and the human woman standing at the gate of the palace.

He heard Baojia sigh. “Let’s get the circus over with. I’m hungry.”

The two vampires flanked Beatrice, Giovanni walking slightly forward and to her right, while Baojia stepped behind her and took up her left side. Their eyes scanned the long staircase and the surrounding forest as they began climbing.

When they reached the top, two human servants met them and swung open massive doors painted gold and decorated with semiprecious stones set in elaborate patterns. The entrance to the palace was designed to impress, and by the look on Beatrice’s awestruck face, it was working.

A hum seemed to come from beyond the antechamber when they walked in and two smaller, but more richly decorated, doors swung open. They walked into a massive stone courtyard lit with more golden lamps and decorated with ancient stone statues. Fountains and pools cut through the space and a huge open lawn ran through the center.

The flaming lanterns and flowing water, the open earth and empty sky all combined to provide a perfect balance of the four elements mastered by the immortal Elders that dwelled in the palace. Giovanni, Beatrice, and Baojia crossed the lawn dotted with tall, twisting rocks and walked up another set of steps leading to the main hall of the complex.

Through it all, Giovanni kept an eye on Beatrice, watching her as she took in the grandeur of the palace and the wealth on display. She was subdued and looked around with curiosity, but no great outward reaction. She was handling herself perfectly, he thought as he reached back and gave her hand a quick squeeze.

They climbed the steps and waited for an even more elaborate set of carved doors, overlaid in pure gold, to be pulled open by saffron-robed monks. Finally, they entered the Hall of the Elders and Giovanni paused, taking a deep breath to sense the air.

The few times he had come to this place in his five hundred years, the sheer spectacle of it was enough to start his heart. The hall was lined by enormous malachite pillars, and the walls were coated in silver. The oil lamps were gold, and the floor was a pure, white marble. Deep red rosewood benches lined the walls, but his eye was drawn to the end of the hall, where eight ancient thrones were placed, each from the era and province of the immortal who sat upon it.

His eyes moved from left to right as he faced them.

Elder Zhang Guo, the oldest of the eight, was Tenzin’s sire and a warlord of some kind from the ancient steppes of the North.

Royal Uncle Cao, the youngest of the eight, was still over twelve hundred years old. An earth vampire of unknown origin, he usually wore a pleasant smile.

The Immortal Woman, He Xiangu, sat next to Cao. Giovanni met the eyes of his fellow fire vampire, who nodded at him with respect.

Lu Dongbin, the ancient water-master, scholar, and reluctant leader of the eight, sat near the center next to Zhongli Quan, a wind vampire who met him in an uneasy truce. The two had been embroiled in a somewhat-polite tug-of-war for power for almost two millennia.

The earth-master and legendary healer, Iron Crutch Li sat next to Zhongli, and next to him was possibly the most enigmatic immortal Giovanni had ever met.

Lan Caihe was a fire vampire who had been turned at a very young age, but that was all anyone knew about him… or her. No one even knew that much, and Lan wasn’t sharing.

The last of the eight was the philosopher and water vampire, Han Xiang, a watchful immortal with a smile that never reached his eyes.

Giovanni estimated that at least sixty other vampires and numerous humans milled around the room, positioned in relation to their allies and associates. All of them paused and turned when Giovanni, Beatrice, and Baojia entered the room.

As one, the Eight Immortals, wearing identical white robes, rose to greet them, and the rush of energy that rolled through the room was enough to make Beatrice stumble back.

“Welcome, Giovanni Vecchio,” Zhang greeted him in Mandarin. “And welcome, Baojia. Your presence is unexpected, but not unwelcome.”

Baojia nodded, but refrained from bowing toward Zhang.

He Xiangu, the Immortal Woman, smiled as she surveyed the group. “It is pleasant to have such respected vampires in our midst, particularly a famed one of my own element.” She nodded toward Giovanni. “But who is this young human you have with you? Who is this girl who warrants protection from both the lion and the dragon?”

Giovanni stepped forward. “Elder He, may I introduce the granddaughter of Don Ernesto Alvarez of Los Angeles, a friend of Tenzin, and my companion, Beatrice De Novo.” He motioned Beatrice forward, and she nodded respectfully toward the Eight, as Giovanni had instructed her. When she spoke, it was in English, which Giovanni knew all the Elders spoke.

“I am honored to be introduced to the hall. Thank you for your invitation, Elder Zhang Guo.”

“You are welcome here, Miss De Novo,” Zhang answered with a smile. “It is my pleasure to meet my daughter’s dear friend.” He looked to Giovanni as if searching for a reaction when he continued. “I believe there is another present in the hall who is even more pleased to see you than the Elders.”

Zhang looked at Lu, who lifted an open hand and motioned to the side of the enormous room. The crowd parted to reveal a slim vampire dressed in the blue-grey robes common among scholars of the court. Giovanni recognized him immediately and turned to Beatrice to hold her hand as she gasped in recognition.

“Dad?”

Chapter Two

Mount Penglai, China

August 2010

He looked exactly the same.

Beatrice’s mind flashed to the last time she had seen her father the summer she was twelve. She’d been angry with him because he was leaving for Italy and worried because he wouldn’t be there for her first day of junior high school.

“You’re always leaving. You love books more than me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be back on Friday afternoon. You and Grandma can pick me up at the airport and we’ll meet Grandpa for dinner to celebrate your first week of school.”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving again! You just got back from Boston.”

“And I was only there for the weekend. I can’t turn down this invitation, Beatrice. Try to understand.”

She hadn’t understood. Beatrice hadn’t understood anything except the last words she had ever spoken to her father had been in anger. Five weeks later, her grandparents sat down with tears in their eyes and told her she would never see him again.

And fifteen years later, Stephen De Novo looked exactly as he had when he’d stepped out the door that summer morning.

“Daddy?”

Beatrice could feel Giovanni’s hand on her arm, and she knew he wanted her to stay still. He worried so much. He shouldn’t have. Her feet were as frozen as her gaze while she stood, staring at the man she thought she would never see again.

His thick, black hair was shorter, and he was paler, but no wrinkles touched the corners of his eyes. No grey sprinkled his hair. His dark brown eyes, the exact color of her own, stared at her as he stood in utter, immortal stillness. Her father was thirty-five years old for eternity.

Her hand slid down to Giovanni’s, gripping it in her own as she heard him start to speak.

“Elder Zhang, you can imagine that you have… surprised us, though I am pleased to see Mister De Novo in good health. I’m sure his daughter is eager to meet with him, and—”

He broke off when the doors to the hall swung open and an irritated stream of Mandarin rung out. Beatrice tore her eyes from her father and turned to see the disturbance. For some reason, the sight of Tenzin’s tiny figure stalking into the hall brought tears to her eyes and an overwhelming wave of relief.

Giovanni pulled her closer, slipping an arm around her waist and sighing. “
Grazie a Dio
,” he whispered.

Beatrice leaned into him, her eyes darting between Tenzin and Stephen, who had stepped forward with a smile.

“Why are they doing the bowing thing again?” Tenzin barked in English. “Did you get new humans? Don’t you tell them I hate the bowing thing?”

Elder Zhang stepped forward. Beatrice could have sworn he rolled his eyes when he saw his daughter. He issued a very polite-sounding stream of Mandarin that Beatrice didn’t understand a word of until Tenzin interrupted him.

“Don’t be rude in front of B. You know she doesn’t speak Chinese, and your English is perfect. And why is Stephen in the hall? I told you I wanted to be here when he was introduced.”