Ben put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “See? So Saba wasn’t right. She wasn’t reading your mind or your motivations at all. She was just… taking advantage of a situation and trying to steal your father’s treasure.”
Tenzin rested her head on Ben’s shoulder. “I am glad you are home, my Benjamin.”
“Me too.” He played with the ends of her hair. “Want to go get some blood for me, then come back and have wild sex?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “That is exactly what I would like to do.”
12
Tenzin had reluctantly agreed to fly across the Atlantic in Giovanni’s converted cargo plane, but only because it saved a considerable amount of time. Plus she disliked being cold and wet, and the shortest route to the Horn of Africa was inconveniently close to the North Pole.
So she bundled herself into the plane with the abnormal amount of luggage Chloe had insisted on packing for her, her amnis-proof tablet loaded with computer games, and the promise of a private compartment when she got sick of the other people on the plane.
It wasn’t just her, Ben, and Chloe traveling on this trip. Giovanni, Beatrice, and Sadia were coming with their entourage, which included Dema, Sadia’s nanny; Zain, their driver who was far more than a driver; and Doug.
She had never met Doug, but he was middle aged for a human, on the shorter side, was grey at the temples, and had a bit of a belly. He was not at all what Giovanni usually chose for security, which meant he must have had other skills that were secret.
Tenzin needed to keep an eye on Doug.
In the meantime, Ben and Giovanni were engaged in a lively exchange about the crew they would need in Ethiopia, while Chloe, Dema, and Sadia watched a movie and Tenzin played a game where you accumulated flowers and made gardens explode. It was both pretty and destructive. Satisfying.
Except for those damn annoying computer bees.
“I guarantee you,” Ben said, “from looking at the terrain and the sites we’re going to be searching, we need an earth vampire. Not for the British compound, but for the north? Absolutely. Tenzin and I can fly there, but we need someone like Carwyn—”
“Carwyn is busy right now; I told you. He and Brigid have another job, and honestly, they’re not looking to make waves in that part of the world, especially outside the aegis of the Roman Church. They have very little sway in the Horn.”
“Not Carwyn, I mean someone like him. A local would be best,” Ben said. “Let’s face it, not all earth vampires are going to understand the delicacy of the operation, and the first thing that will kill this mission is going in heavy-handed. The whole point is restoring cultural treasures, not destroying them.”
Zain spoke to Doug, who was sitting in the booth across from him. “We’re going to have four-wheel drives, right?”
Doug nodded. “You’re not getting anywhere in the north without them. Unless you can fly.”
Zain laughed a little. “Not this one; and no, thank you.”
“A local?” Giovanni shook his head. “You’re looking for an earth vampire in Ethiopia or even East Africa who doesn’t owe allegiance to Saba? It’s not going to happen. Even those who aren’t directly in her line are going to have allegiance to her in some way.”
Tenzin kept her attention on the exploding flowers. Giovanni was right; Ben was asking for the impossible.
Beatrice chimed in. “Ben, what are you looking for specifically? Someone with local knowledge? Or someone who just understands delicate excavations?”
He sighed. “I mean, preferably both.”
Giovanni said, “And that’s what I’m telling you. You’re not getting both. Now Doug—”
“You already explained about Doug—”
Tenzin’s ears perked up. What about Doug?
“—so I guess someone with some kind of archaeological or anthropological experience would be best. I know you know some vampire archaeologists, Beatrice—”
“No.” She was looking at her phone. “I’m actually not thinking of an archaeologist at all.” She pointed her phone screen at Ben. “What do you think?”
Ben leaned forward to look at the screen, then sat back in his seat with a frown. “He’s an adrenaline junkie.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” She showed the phone to Giovanni. “This was from last year. He was just there. I mean, he may get a little overenthusiastic at times—”
“Hardly unusual for someone in Carwyn’s clan,” Giovanni muttered.
Tenzin looked up from her game. “If you’re thinking about inviting Rene DuPont into this group, I will be leaving it. I do not have the patience for that man right now.”
Ben’s lip curled. “Really? You think I’d stoop that low?”
Giovanni cocked his head. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Rene’s a treasure hunter, but—”
“No.” Ben was firm. “Absolutely not. I’ll get on board with Beatrice’s suggestion if it’s between the two.”
The smile that Giovanni managed to hide told Tenzin that was exactly the reaction the vampire had intended to provoke.
Sneaky Italian.
The conversation became intriguing enough that Tenzin finally stopped playing the exploding-flowers game. She walked over and motioned to Beatrice, asking for her phone. She looked at the social media account the immortal published, though he wisely avoided more than a hint of his face in the pictures. She scrolled through his pictures of cheese wheels and saw an album full of mountains.
The Andes. The Himalayas. The Scottish Highlands.
And the Simian Mountains in Northern Ethiopia.
Daniel Rathmore was her friend Carwyn’s youngest son, a farmer of some kind and an adventurer. Tenzin barely knew him, but she knew Giovanni and Beatrice had spent time with him in Cochamó and Ben knew him through family connections.
“He’s been in these mountains?” she asked.
“He’s been mountain climbing there,” Ben said. “I don’t know if that means anything other than he came here as a tourist.”
“Still.” She shrugged. “He’s the priest’s son, so he may have the personality of an overgrown puppy, but he’ll respect the sacred sites. I agree with Beatrice; he’s a good choice.”
Giovanni turned to Doug. “Doug?”
The human nodded. “I’ve run across him over the years. He’s not the worst choice. Not the best one, but I agree with you—finding someone without loyalty to Saba is the sticking point. Call him up. The adventure aspect will probably tempt him more than the money, which isn’t a bad thing.”
Tenzin narrowed her eyes at Doug. Giovanni was checking with Doug after she’d already given her approval?
Yes, she definitely needed to keep an eye on this human.
Ben had never spent an extended period of time in Addis Ababa, but even so, the pace of transformation in the capital city of Ethiopia—the rapid construction, dense traffic, and constant roadwork—were things he always blanked out. The city was constantly evolving, with skyscrapers and new apartment buildings springing up like reeds as city-beautification projects refaced the sprawling capital that hosted hundreds of embassies, charities, and the headquarters of the African Union.