Ben crossed his arms. “What’s in your pockets?”
Her eyes went wide. “My pockets?”
He reached down and squeezed his hand through the side of the vent, reaching around her backside to feel a large lump that had definitely not been there before. “You have gold bullion in your pockets, Tiny.”
“Do I?”
“Are you trying to tell me it just happened to fall in there and you didn’t notice?”
“It’s only twenty… thirty ounces. Maybe.”
Ben squeezed one cheek. “Really?”
“In each pocket,” she muttered. “Fine.” She sighed heavily and dropped down again, only to lift a handful of small gold bars through the vent.
“Uh-uh.” Ben wasn’t taking Vano’s gold. Sure, he was a bad guy, but Ben had been hired to find Radu’s goblet. If he wanted to maintain a reputation as an honest operator, he had to stick to his principles.
“Oh, come on!” She popped her head out of the vent. “Will you just—?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you promised René you wouldn’t take Vano’s gold.”
She hung on the edge of the vent and pouted.
“Tenzin, we need to go.” Ben could see the crowd beginning to break apart. “It’s almost midnight.”
She sighed deeply and dropped the gold on the floor; then she slipped from the vent with ease and nudged the vent back into place. “You’re still no fun.”
“That’s not what you said when you woke me up tonight.” He hooked his arm through hers. “Ready?”
They took off, stepping off the roof and gliding through the sky until they came to land across the clearing on a roof shaded by a large oak tree.
“What are we doing?” Tenzin asked. “We need to meet René.”
Ben reached for the two pouches. “I may not be greedy, but I want to see them.”
Tenzin crossed her legs and sat. “They’re beautiful.”
Ben unwrapped the first one, which was Vano’s. It was encased in embroidered red silk. He carefully removed it from the padded sleeve and almost drooled.
The goblet was nearly a copy of Kezia’s carved citrine, but it was crafted from a ruby the size of Ben’s fist. The base was carved with a similar inscription, and the edges were smoothed from age.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“Look at Radu’s.”
The leather took a little longer to unwrap, but as it fell softly into the palm of Ben’s hand, he felt the innate power in the ancient carved gemstone. He picked up the ruby in his right hand and held the emerald in his left.
“I feel like an emperor right now.”
“I imagine whatever Persian king gifted them felt the same.”
“Holy shit.” He nearly groaned. “I get it.”
“We can’t keep them.” Tenzin sighed. “Sadly. They are completely unique. And also completely foundational for Poshani culture. We wouldn’t be robbing an individual, we would be robbing a people.”
Ben handed her the ruby goblet. “One toast.”
Tenzin took it and grinned. “If only we had some blood-wine.”
“Cheers.” Ben ever so gently tapped the edge of the emerald goblet to the edge of the ruby one. Then he leaned over and kissed Tenzin on the mouth. “We pulled off another one, partner.”
“We stole it back,” she said. “Now to get just a little revenge.”
38
Stealing a scarf for Tenzin and a cap for Ben allowed them to blend into the crowd surrounding a central stage where three elaborate chairs had been placed. The middle chair was draped in gold and orange ribbons. The one on the left was draped in crimson, and the one on the left in vivid green.
Tenzin nudged Ben. “They don’t look very happy.”
It was true. Kezia, Vano, and Radu were conferring in the center of the stage, a circle of the Hazar gathered close around them. Ben could see Radu’s expression, both worried and a little confused. Kezia looked furious, and Vano’s eyes roamed the crowd.
“Do you think he suspects us?” Ben asked.
“I think he’s thinking that someone double-crossed him. He suspects everyone.”
Vano’s eyes came to rest on René, who was lounging in a raised sitting area for the guests of the kamvasa. Ben spotted Tatyana not far from him, along with most of the other vampire guests. A few old faces were gone, replaced by vampires Ben didn’t recognize. One vampire he did recognize was Oleg, the famous Russian fire vampire Tatyana had been hiding from.
Well, shit. That was inconvenient.
They were on opposite sides of the platform, avoiding each other. Oleg was only half watching the festivities—most of his attention was locked on Tatyana.
Tatyana, on her end, was completely ignoring Oleg. In the safety of the kamvasa, whatever disagreement they had couldn’t be acted on. She was protected, but Ben saw her nerves in the tight lines of her jaw and neck.
Ben asked, “Why are the Poshani allowing guests in? I thought all the secret stuff happened when outsiders are gone.”
“Any judgments or internal conflicts will be handled in private, but these” —she nodded to the vampires watching— “I’m guessing, are the witnesses. This is like an inauguration or a coronation. They need witnesses for legitimacy. Not a lot, but a few very trusted individuals.”
“Like René?” Ben was incredulous.
“He probably paid someone for a ticket.” She looked at Ben. “It would have been expensive.”
“No wonder he doesn’t want us messing his score up,” Ben muttered under his breath.
At the base of the sitting area was a line of chairs, all with various humans and immortals sitting in them. All looked dressed to the nines with expressions wavering between confident and nervous.
“Candidates.” Ben nodded at the line of seats. “The ones hoping to be chosen.”
“They have no idea.” Tenzin looked around the crowd. “This could turn ugly.”
“We have to time it exactly right.”
As if on cue, Kezia stepped forward and raised her hands. “My brothers and sisters, welcome to Vashana!”
A loud cheer erupted from the crowd.
“As all of you know, this is the Vashana Zata, a special night held only once every hundred years. Because of this occasion, we have invited a few trusted guests from the kamvasa.” Kezia nodded to the raised sitting platform. “Our guests honor this trust and the privilege they have been granted.”
Ben leaned down. “Meaning talk about our shit out of turn and be hunted to your grave.”
“Exactly.”
“This night will decide the next hundred years of leadership,” Kezia continued. “Some of us may move on from our humble seats of servanthood—”
Hushed whispers from the area around the candidates, who appeared to be calculating their chances.
“—and some of us will remain, sharing the wisdom of the terrin with the newest member.”
“That’s smart,” Ben said. “So they won’t all choose a new member?”
“Despite my extraordinary wisdom and knowledge—”