Would Ben and Tenzin ever look that cool? Probably not.
They strode toward the gates and waited for the guard to open them; then they proceeded down a path to the left that led them beside intricately handmade mud-and-straw-constructed buildings molded into various shapes. Waves and chains, birds’ nests and flowers. It was nothing like anything Ben had ever seen before.
“This museum is extraordinary,” Beatrice said. “I can’t imagine how long it must have taken to make all this.”
“And the gardens are beautiful,” Giovanni said. “Also, I think they’re entirely edible. I believe this is an experimental project in urban agriculture and building.”
Ben nodded at a sign in the distance, visible in the moonlight. “There’s a school here too.”
A school with guards. Lots of guards. Ben felt them all around him, vampires waiting in the shadows, wandering the grounds, and at least one overhead. Hirut might have been meeting them in a friendly location, but she was taking nothing for granted.
“Fascinating.” Giovanni paused at the end of the path; then he waved them toward the left. “This way. I can already smell the coffee roasting.”
They followed twisting paths through towering alleys of false banana trees and found themselves at the top of a large, rectangular green. In the distance, a flame tree bursting with red-orange flowers was blooming, and beneath it, a woman in a pure white dress was sitting under the tree on a low stool, roasting coffee over a charcoal fire.
Another woman in white sat a little in the distance at a table sprinkled with flowers. Four wine goblets were in front of her along with a pitcher full of fresh blood. She wore a traditional Ethiopian dress with intricate embroidery at the collar and a shema shawl over her head and crossed on her shoulders. Her jewelry was pure gold and—Ben was guessing—quite old; an amulet rested on her forehead with a large red ruby at the center, and gold chains draped along her temples, holding it in place.
Giovanni paused at the foot of the table. “Hirut Gedeyon, thank you for your welcome. I am Giovanni Vecchio, son of Andreas, water vampire sired to fire. And this is my mate.”
Beatrice stepped next to Giovanni. “Thank you, Hirut. I am Beatrice, daughter of Stephen, water vampire sired to water. And this is our son, Benjamin.”
Ben was getting to be a professional at protocol, and he caught the nuances of how Beatrice and Giovanni had introduced themselves, which was formal but familiar, emphasizing family connections and not professional associations.
“Thank you, Hirut.” Ben bowed a little, as befitting a child of Zhang. “I am Benjamin, son of Zhang, wind vampire sired to wind. Thank you for hosting us in this beautiful garden and in your city.”
Your very secure city. Ben felt at least three more vampires creep closer.
He could smell the coffee roasting, along with the scent of frankincense wafting from under the flame tree. The woman roasting coffee had her head covered, focused on her task.
“Welcome to Addis Ababa.” Hirut rose and gestured to the empty chairs. “I have prepared a pitcher of fresh blood for us tonight.”
“That’s so thoughtful,” Beatrice said. “I’m sure you’ve heard that our son is young.”
“Young.” Hirut sat again and crossed her hands in her lap. “But very powerful.”
Well, that would explain the guards. Clearly Hirut knew who he was—unfortunately, most vampires did—and was suspicious. Fair. Irritating but fair.
“Has your partner accompanied you on your journey?” Hirut poured blood into each goblet and passed them to each guest. Then she deliberately drank first.
Ben took a drink and enjoyed the sweet rush of fresh human blood against the back of his throat. He was young enough that it was a challenge to focus and not gulp down the whole glass. “If you mean Tenzin, yes, she has. She sends her greetings; she is currently at our compound with my little sister, who’s only seven.”
Leaving one immortal in the party to guard the human members was a perfectly acceptable gesture, especially when a child was involved. At Ben’s suggestion, they’d chosen Tenzin, which left the compound very well guarded.
Also, it kept Tenzin from sticking her foot in her mouth and causing an international incident. Ben liked to think ahead.
Hirut’s attention seemed to be focused on Ben. “I understand that you work with your uncle, but in a more… acquisitive capacity.”
Ben answered very carefully. “We find lost items, mostly for immortal clients who have misplaced them or had them stolen over the years.” Ben glanced at Giovanni, who only gave him an encouraging nod. “We recently retrieved a lost icon for a leader of the Poshani people in Eastern Europe, a valuable cultural item which had gone missing because of a human theft.”
“An honorable deed then,” Hirut said. “To return such a treasure to her people.”
“We were happy that it found its rightful home again.”
Giovanni said, “Hirut, you have known my work for years. I retrieved a manuscript from Berlin that is now in the Ethnographic Museum at the university.”
“Indeed.” Hirut nodded. “That service to my father is why you have been welcomed here despite being in the company of those who have… murkier reputations.”
Ben tried to pretend it didn’t sting, but it did. “Hirut, I hope you know that Tenzin and I—”
He stopped speaking when she raised her hand. “Giovanni, you know the history of this place. For centuries, humans and vampires have come from outside our historical borders and taken cultural heritage from Saba’s people, human and vampire alike. We have reason to be wary.”
Giovanni placed a gentle but firm hand on Ben’s shoulder before he could respond. “Knowing that I know that,” he said, “you have my word that there will be no manuscript, no artifact, not even a paperback book taken out of Ethiopia without your queen’s permission.”
Ben kept his eyes steady on Hirut. In the distance, the scent of coffee came closer. The woman roasting the beans was passing around the freshly roasted coffee on an intricately carved wooden tray, wafting the smoke from a small brazier over each guest with a dark, graceful hand.
For a moment, Ben looked up and gazed at the woman, who locked eyes with him.
Large eyes, so dark brown they were nearly black, were rimmed with black kohl and thick lashes.
Old memories flashed in his mind.
The smell of green earth and growing things.
Power, the air redolent with it.
Boy, you are faithful… Your time is not now.
The smoke cleared, the woman walked away, and Ben was left with tears in the corner of his eyes. From the smoke? Was he imagining things?
The woman in white seemed to go unnoticed by everyone but him, just another human woman preparing coffee for guests. The shema she wore covered her face as she sat in the shadow of the flame tree; Hirut and Giovanni were still discussing the terms of their visit.
“…to go north,” Giovanni was saying. “The historical sites in Gondar are something I’d love to share with Beatrice, along with the island monasteries on Lake Tana.”
“And Lalibela,” Hirut said. “Your family should not miss that.”
Giovanni bowed a little, and Ben internally rejoiced. Lalibela was far closer to their search area than Gondar was, but they hadn’t wanted to appear too eager to visit that historic city.