“Combined with a tumbler. She trusts the Hazar far too much.”
“Apparently.” A tumbler lock could be picked with a simple set of picks he’d practiced with when he was ten. “Okay, I’m supposed to do this tonight, right?”
“Yes.” She angled her head toward the door. “I believe Radu is gathering your distraction as we speak.”
“Fun.”
“I better go.” Tenzin rose. “I don’t want Radu to doubt my innocence. Wait at the back of the crowd until the Hazar join the festivities. Then search Kezia’s trailer.”
“Got it.”
Clutching the paper in his pocket, Ben walked to the kitchen trailer and sat down for a plate of kebab, rice pilaf, and a delicately spiced eggplant dish. He wasn’t ravenous, but he ate more than he’d been expecting. Then he drank a full glass of blood-wine, thanked the cooks, and wandered toward the bonfire in the middle of the poppy-dotted meadow.
As he walked, he watched the dynamics of the campsite. Instead of observing the vampires, he watched the humans.
Children. There were far more children than he’d realized the first night he came. Ben wondered if they kept the younger Poshani out of the way when a new vampire joined the caravan. That would make sense. But now the children emerged from campers and travel trailers. They rode horses across the meadow and tossed balls at each other from horseback in a game that looked a little like polo without the mallets.
The crowd near the bonfire was growing, drawing occasional vampire attention, but mostly human. Ben heard a loud bang, then a zip of fire, and a bright stream of light shot into the sky. It disappeared into the darkness for a brief second before it exploded into a massive shower of sparks.
Ben smiled. Fireworks.
The crowd clapped in appreciation.
As he approached, he saw the ground around the bonfire had been meticulously cleared of grass or anything flammable. Most of the vampire guests were sitting in plush chairs at the center of the crowd while servers offered glasses of wine or plates of fruit. Tenzin had already joined them, sitting close to Radu with René on her left side and Kezia on her right. She glanced at Ben, then quickly looked away.
On the far side of the crowd, near Kezia’s trailer in the distance, Ben saw Tatyana watching with an amused expression on her face.
Ben wandered over. “This is nice.”
“Yes,” she said. “Quite a show for the little ones.”
“For grown-ups too.”
She looked around. “One errant spark and this all goes up in flames.”
“Such an optimist.”
“A realist.”
Ben glanced at her hands, then at the small stream that ran along the edge of the forest. “Keeping an eye on things?”
“I’d be a fool not to,” she said quietly. “Even water vampires can burn.”
“True.”
“Still…” She shrugged. “Radu asked me to keep an eye out for any errant fire, and I was willing. There are not many of my kind in the camp.”
“You’re generous to help.”
“I’ve become quite good at putting out fires.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “I used to work for Oleg.”
“I see.”
“I very much doubt that, Benjamin Vecchio.” She raised a hand, and a basketball-sized blob of water rose from the nearby creek. “But I’m ready when I need to be.”
He gave her his biggest grin. “Good vampire.”
“Ugh.” She curled her lip. “Put it away. I’m not in the mood for your teeth.”
Ben laughed. He liked Tatyana. He liked her cranky nature and her obvious humanity. He liked that he caught her smiling when children ran past and there was a cat who followed her around the camp, clearly knowing that eventually Tatyana would give him food.
Why are you here?
Was she on the run? Hiding out? Or here to bargain for a shot at staying hidden beyond the season by fencing a priceless cultural treasure? Could she be part of Vano’s or Kezia’s schemes?
“Vampire life is complicated,” Ben muttered.
“So it is.” She looked over her shoulder. “The Hazar are coming to watch. Radu will call them down.”
Ben looked up and saw the shadowed silhouettes of wind vampires guarding the perimeter of the camp. “Seems like you’ve gotten to know the ins and outs of this place pretty well.”
“I’m observant,” Tatyana said. “Some of us don’t come into immortal life with riches, connections, and extraordinary power.” She glanced sideways at him. “We have to watch for our opportunities.”
Ben’s curiosity was driving him crazy, but he knew he had to focus. Now was not the time.
“Come closer. Put out your lights.” Radu lifted his voice and shouted at the Hazar. “I don’t want to worry about burning our fine guards. The fire will keep others away tonight. Why don’t all of you watch from the ground to protect yourself?” Radu caught Ben’s eye for a fraction of a second. “It will only be for a few minutes.”
Understood.
As the crowd grew denser and torches and lights were doused, Ben fell back, eventually leaning on the corner of a camper trailer parked next to Kezia’s.
Another zipping firework.
Another cheer from the crowd. Darkness, then explosion.
Ben saw no hovering shadows, and no one was looking his direction. He ducked between the trailers and dove under Kezia’s caravan. Then he emerged on the far side and examined the door.
Another pop. Another gasp of delight.
The combination lock was simple, no electronics, and the tumbler was far from a challenge. He managed to open it within a minute.
He cracked the door and felt a nearly imperceptible trip line pull tight.
Aha. Slipping his fingers along the edge of the door, Ben felt for the device and disabled it with a razor blade and a piece of tape. It wasn’t a sophisticated device but a basic hack that would alert Kezia when someone entered her trailer.
He was buying time. Probably five to ten minutes at most.
Like Radu, Kezia lived in an old-fashioned vardo, but there was nothing rustic about it. Silk wall hangings covered where curtains normally would be. The woodwork on the walls was carved and painted, and gold trim lined the cupboard doors and ceiling beams.
In an intricately designed living space like this one, there were a hundred places to hide something small, which was what Ben was looking for.
He surveyed the space, deliberating the most obvious place to start.
Not the desk or office area.
Not the closet or the vanity.
The sleeping area.
She’d want to keep her treasures close. Ben walked to the platform bed at the far end of the trailer and poked his head past the drapes. It was a cozy space with thick wall hangings that blocked out all light and would keep the custom wagon warm when it was cold in the winter.
Not that Ben saw Kezia spending a ton of time rolling through the winter in her vardo. She was far more likely to be spending the winter in the Crimea or on the Mediterranean or wherever Poshani royalty liked to hang out.
In the corner of the sleeping area, there was a small altar. Ben was only mildly surprised to find the famed icon of Sara-la-Kali there.
Of course the icon was Kezia’s. Of course it was. He should have seen it before Tenzin told him; the chapel had nearly screamed female! Leaning closer, he saw the small triptych Tenzin had spotted that clued her in.