Tenzin lifted her shoulders in the world’s slowest shrug. “I mean… I would like to disagree with that, but it’s probably true.”
He fell back on the bed, grabbing her around the waist so she snuggled under his arm. “Tell me about your dreams,” he whispered. “When you dreamed, was it about the past?”
Please don’t let it be about the past.
“I dream about flying.” She looked up. “I dream about you. So far, no nightmares.”
His arm around her tightened. “Good.”
Ben couldn’t imagine sleeping after a century of consciousness. “How does it feel?”
“Peaceful. But I also worry. I went to Tibet after I left you in Penglai that last time. I felt safe there. I dreamed.”
Ben played with a strand of her hair, sliding it between his fingers while he imagined what dreams must taste like after so long. “Does your father know?”
“No one knows but you.” She looked at him. “No one needs to know.”
“I would never tell.” He kissed the top of her head. “Not a soul.”
After the night before, Daniel asked for a reprieve in earth moving. “I’m not going to lie,” he said. “It took more out of me than I expected. If I started again tonight, I might not be able to be as precise.”
Tenzin was in favor of going without Daniel. Ben was not. After not a little bit of debate and one offer by Chloe to deep condition her hair, Tenzin relented and spent the evening in the compound, relaxing with Sadia and Chloe.
Daniel and Ben decided to relax by the fountain and enjoy a clear sky filled with stars.
“If I’m honest,” Daniel said, “when Beatrice told me about this, I was tempted to invite you to Loch Ness to search for a great swimming monster as well.”
Ben couldn’t stop the smile. “Are people that skeptical that the bone scroll exists?”
“Skeptical?” Daniel shook his head. “Try incredulous. It’s a mad idea, Ben. Our amnis can’t connect to all elements; that’s the nature of amnis. And the idea that a single vampire could have the ability and not find some way to take over the world is unrealistic.”
“Maybe Ash Mithra decided to hide the scroll because he realized it was so dangerous.”
“If Mithra believed that, then why didn’t he destroy it?” Daniel asked. “According to vampire mythology, Ash Mithra was the most accomplished scholar of the ancient world and the most accomplished wind vampire. Greater than Ziri. Greater than Zhang. Why create an object like that and then turn it loose on the world?”
“Maybe he didn’t mean to?” Ben said. “Maybe something happened to it, or maybe he thought it was destroyed and someone didn’t do their job.”
Daniel was still shaking his head. “Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but a large part of me still believes we’re running a fool’s errand, my friend.”
“Maybe we are,” Ben said. “But the last thing anyone needs is Arosh getting his hands on it and having even more power. So if we can keep it from him, then we’re not wasting our time.”
They left the following night for Amba Guba, another flat-topped mountain north of Lalibela. This site was well away from the human village and church, an isolated hilltop overlooking the human settlement in the distance. They landed in the middle of a rain shower, and Ben immediately looked for shelter. They would be able to do nothing while it was raining.
“There were caves on the side of the mountain,” he said. “Let’s fly down there until this passes.”
Ben lifted Daniel and held the arms of the lanky vampire as they flew up and over the edge of the mountain, searching for an isolated cave. Ben could smell fresh smoke coming from one cave overlooking the human village, so they flew to the other side and found one that faced a narrow valley.
“Here,” Tenzin said. “I don’t smell any humans here.” She glanced over the edge. “They’d have a difficult time finding this place.”
“I’ve seen people make homes and churches on the side of cliffs in this country,” Daniel said, shaking the water off his jacket. “I wouldn’t assume anything.”
Daniel’s warning meant Ben wasn’t surprised when he went to make a fire at the mouth of the cave and saw smoke marks on the ceiling. “Looks like Daniel was right.”
“I’m always right.” He settled against the cave wall, his jacket wrapped around him, and began to dig through his pack for snacks. “This is a good-size cave. Depending on how long this storm lasts, I’d rather spend the day here than try to fly back with all the rain.”
Tenzin settled on the ground next to Ben. “I agree. This is an easily defensible position and a good prospect for a treasury according to Liya’s information. It’s worth spending the time here.”
Ben shrugged. “Hey, I’m not going to argue. This storm looks pretty heavy, so the last thing I want to do is go flying around in it.” He didn’t hate rain as much as Tenzin did, but it was still uncomfortable to fly in it. “We can wait. And…” He looked up and around the cave. “I know I’m not an earth vampire, but Daniel may be able to poke around the mountain from here, right?”
Daniel sat up and his eyes were bright. “Not a bad idea at all, Benny-boy.”
“Please don’t ever call me that again.”
“Right.” Daniel rose, put his hands on his hips, and looked around. “This is typical sedimentary stone…” He muttered something about density and other geological stuff that made no sense to Ben. “I’m going to explore the back of this place a little more.” He turned. “I’ll let you know if I’m going in.”
“I would say be careful for bears, but lions are probably a greater risk,” Tenzin said.
Daniel spun around. “Lions?”
Her eyes were alight with mischief. “Don’t they like caves?”
“I don’t think there are any lions in the vicinity,” Ben said. “There are lions in Ethiopia, Daniel, but I don’t see any herds of zebras or gazelles around here, do you?”
“Right.” The earth vampire nodded. “Excellent point, old man.”
“Nope.” Ben shook his head again. “Don’t like that one either.”
“Dammit, I need to figure some nickname for you. Calling you by your name just seems so formal.”
“You could call him your life coach,” Tenzin said. “I did that for a while.”
“Did he like it?”
“Yes.” Tenzin nodded. “Very much.”
“No. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like being her yoga instructor either.”
“Oh, no kidding? I didn’t know you were a yoga instructor.”
“I’m not.” He glared at Tenzin. “Daniel, weren’t you going to explore?”
“Right.” Daniel started to undress. “Don’t mind me. Just need less clothes to work my magic.”
Tenzin and Ben watched Daniel disappear into the back of the cave wall; then Tenzin turned to Ben. “That’s what she said.”