Tenzin paused, and Beatrice wondered if the secretive vampire would answer her.
“I was very angry and very violent. Why doesn’t Giovanni want you to turn?”
She sighed and closed her eyes, moving through the familiar movements.
Bend. Sweep. Push. Yield.
“He’s sentimental, for one. He uses the idea of one of us being available during the day for Ben as an excuse, but it’s not really what’s bothering him.”
“What is it, then? Your human life is a liability at this point.”
“I agree, but he’s pretty stubborn.”
“Why?”
“I think he’s worried about the motherhood thing, to be honest. He thinks I’m going to turn and then regret not having children.”
Tenzin snorted. “So you’ll adopt.”
“That’s what I told him. We already have Ben, for heaven’s sake. If we want more children someday, we can adopt, but he thinks I’ll regret not giving birth or something. It’s not something I take
lightly
, but being pregnant, especially when it wouldn’t be his, isn’t something that I consider vital to happiness.”
“It’s not. And pregnancy doesn’t make you a mother. I gave birth to three children, but I was only mother to one.”
Beatrice stumbled back, stunned by Tenzin’s admission. The vampire just looked at her, clearly annoyed she had fumbled their practice. She stepped closer, pushing Beatrice to mirror her graceful movements.
Bend. Stretch. Push. Yield.
“How old were you?”
“When I birthed my children?” Tenzin shrugged, moving into a more complex routine. “
Focus
. I have no idea. We didn’t celebrate birthdays back then. I’d been bleeding for one winter when I became pregnant with my first child.”
“What—”
“She was small. She didn’t survive the winter. Neither did her father.”
Bend. Sweep. Push. Yield.
“Your husband died, too?”
She frowned, folding at the waist as they swept down into a new form. “I suppose you could call him my husband. His older brother took me after that. He already had a wife, but she hadn’t given him any children, so he took me. I was luckier with him. My babies were born in the spring the following year, and both survived.”
“What happened to them?” Beatrice concentrated on keeping her tone easy as they moved. She was shocked Tenzin was sharing as much as she was.
“The oldest one, the stronger one, was given to my husband’s first wife. I was allowed to keep the second child. He was small, but strong.”
Her mind was still reeling at the casual tone in which Tenzin was relating her story. She almost sounded like she was talking about an acquaintance. They continued to move with each other, as Beatrice focused on her breath and the stretch of her muscles.
Bend. Stretch. Push. Yield.
“Where did you live?”
“It was on the Northern steppes. I have no idea where exactly. I lived in a village that was raided a lot. That’s how I was turned.”
“What happened?” She held her breath, half expecting Tenzin to clam up. She didn’t.
“We were raided one day, and the first wife sent me out to check the goats. They never took everything—how else would we have more goats for them the next time they came? But she wanted to know how many we had left and if any kids had dropped, so she sent me out after dark. I was happy to go. My son had been crying and he always liked it better when I walked, so I tied him to my back and went out to check the pens. There were three men there.”
“The raiders?”
Tenzin cocked an eyebrow and moved into a new routine. “No, definitely not. These ‘men’ didn’t need horses to get around.”
“They were vampires,” Beatrice whispered.
“Yes, they were vampires.”
She fell silent for a few moments, and Beatrice saw her close her eyes as she moved through the forms.
Bend. Push. Sweep. Yield.
Even though her heart ached, and part of her didn’t want to hear the rest of the story, Beatrice still asked.
“What happened?”
“They were feeding on the goats, but stopped when they heard me. My son started crying, and I tried to hush him so I could run away, but they were already coming toward me. I thought they were demons of some kind; they moved so fast. They swept me up and took me away.”
“And your son?” she whispered.
Tenzin paused for only a second in her silent exercise.
“He fell to the ground. He was crying when they took to the air. It’s possible someone from the village found him. Probably not.”
Tears fell down Beatrice’s cheeks, but Tenzin’s eyes were still closed, silently practicing the meditative forms of the tai chi routine. Her face was serene, and her hair flowed around her, brushing her shoulders as they moved together.
Bend. Stretch. Push. Yield.
“And Zhang?”
“The men who took me were Zhang’s sons. His own band of raiders. There were four of them then. He turned more as the years passed. His sons sired sons. Eventually, my father had over fifty wind vampires to do his bidding.”
“Why did he turn you?”
“For his men. They usually killed the human women they took, so Zhang turned me. He thought I would be more… resilient.”
Beatrice’s stomach twisted in horror, but she took care not to halt her steady movements. She could not comprehend the cruelty of Elder Zhang turning a young girl, just so she could be a plaything for his other children. No wonder the vampire disliked her sire.
Tenzin was still moving with her eyes closed, her face a picture of placid meditation as she practiced.
Bend. Sweep. Push. Yield.
“How long were you with him?”
“Two or three hundred years. Just long enough to kill off all of his children.”
Beatrice was speechless, but Tenzin never stopped moving through the complex combat forms. Eventually, she continued without prompting.
“They would take turns with me. At first, I was frightened. After all, I was a child. And I had no idea how to use my new body. But I slowly gathered more skill. I was probably twenty years immortal when I killed the first of his sons.”
Bend. Stretch. Push. Yield.
“Eventually, they avoided me. But I didn’t stop until I had killed them all.”
“What did Zhang do when they were all dead?”
“He laughed. Then he told me I was his finest creation, his fiercest warrior, and sent me out into the world with half of his wealth. He came to Penglai soon after that, and I was on my own. I never had another companion until I met Giovanni.”
Finally, she slowed her movements, finishing the routine before she bowed to Beatrice, who mirrored the movement. Tenzin opened her storm-grey eyes.
“Do not pity me, Beatrice De Novo. My life has been as fate dictated, and now I am master of it. Do not waste your regret on the past.”
Beatrice nodded as they moved to the benches that lined the room and drank from the pitcher of water that had been set out. “Why didn’t you kill Gio when you met him? He told me that he’d been sent to kill you. Why did you have mercy on him?”
She smiled. “I saw him. I saw his eyes in a dream. They were the same color as my son’s. I knew our fates were intertwined.”
Beatrice gulped down the water as Tenzin looked over her shoulder. She smiled just a few seconds before Beatrice heard the door open.
“Nightfall,” Tenzin said. “You boys will have to wait to play with her,” she shouted at the door. “She’s still mine for another hour.”
Beatrice turned to see Giovanni and Baojia leaning against the wall of the practice room. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the two handsome men outlined against the pale walls. Baojia wore a look of amusement. Giovanni’s eyes were narrowed at her; he looked hungry.
“Give me back my woman, Tenzin. You’ve borrowed her for too long.”
Tenzin rolled her eyes and turned back to Beatrice. “How do you put up with him? That’s so annoying.”
She laughed. “He just hates it when I’m not there when he wakes up.”
The small vampire lifted up and flew toward the two men, swiping at them and smacking both on the back of the head before she flitted back to Beatrice’s side.
“Well, they’ll have to learn how to be patient. You have more important things to be doing than entertaining his libido.” She looked up at Beatrice and gestured toward the mat. “We’re running out of time.”
Penglai Island, China
September 2010
T
he longer he watched her, the faster his heart beat.
She was astonishing.
A vision of her transformed assaulted him. Lithe grace turned into preternatural strength and speed. Fangs gleaming in her mouth as she pierced his skin. Her smooth, pale skin crackling with energy when she touched him.
Imagining Beatrice as an immortal was undeniably alluring. Yet, it still filled him with guilt.
“She’ll be stunning when she turns,” Baojia said as he sat next to him.
Giovanni glared at him, irritated that his thoughts had been so closely mirrored by the other vampire.
“She’s stunning now.”
Baojia just cocked an amused eyebrow at him.
“She plans on it. Why else would she practice as she does?” He folded his legs and hands in a meditative pose. “I think it was in the back of her mind even before you came back.”
“Oh?”
“I remember the first martial arts class she took. Introductory tai chi. Ernesto was very pleased. Beatrice says Tenzin suggested it. Very forward thinking of your old partner; it will help immeasurably with physical control.”
Giovanni wanted the water vampire to shut up. He disliked being reminded of the years where Baojia had watched over Beatrice, and he had not. He decided to change the subject.
“What weapons do you plan on introducing?”
“I’ll start her with the
jian
and
dao
. She doesn’t have any experience with weapons yet, and those will be a good start for her.”
Giovanni nodded. The double-edged straight sword, or
jian
, and the curved single-edge saber, or
dao
, would be light enough for a human and versatile enough for Beatrice to carry regularly. Moreover, both were weapons he had some experience with and would be able to practice with her.
“Eventually, she will wield the
shuang gou.
”
“What?” Giovanni looked up, frowning. “The hook sword?”
“Two,” he said, watching Beatrice move in the faster
wushu
that Giovanni remembered practicing so many years before with Tenzin. Baojia leaned forward, tracking Beatrice with his eyes. “She’ll carry two. Watch her move, di Spada. She’s quick as a human; imagine her after. And she doesn’t favor either side. She’s adaptable and smart enough to wield them effectively.” Baojia smiled. “Yes, we will start with the
dao
, but the
shuang gou
will be her weapon.”
Giovanni frowned. The wicked curves of the traditional hook swords used in the northern part of China may have been brutally effective, even Zhang favored them, but they were also dangerous.
“Any sword is dangerous,” Baojia murmured, as if reading Giovanni’s thoughts, “but the
shuang gou
has many advantages to the one who can wield it effectively.”
In the end, Giovanni had to admit that the water vampire’s knowledge of weapons was far more extensive than his own. “I will accede to your expertise, Baojia, as long as it is what Beatrice wishes.”
“I will make sure to demonstrate a variety of weapons with Tenzin. That way she will be able to observe them all.”
“But keeping the
jian
and
dao
for her weapons at first?”
Baojia chuckled. “I never would have taken you for such a cautious immortal.”
Just then, Beatrice’s laugh rang through the practice room. Tenzin had picked her up, flown her to the corner of the room, and was hanging her by her feet.
“You crazy vampire,” she called out, laughing. “Put me down, Tenzin! No fair.”
Giovanni smiled as his old friend flipped her upright and floated them both toward the ground. Beatrice looked toward him with laughing eyes and a brilliant smile, her face flushed and happy. She winked and blew him a kiss before walking over to the bench to drink a glass of water.
He glanced at Baojia. “And what fool would risk that?”
Baojia opened his mouth, as if to speak, but suddenly, Tenzin barked at him in Mandarin.
“Get over here. Do you want my help demonstrating or not?”
Baojia tossed a few insults back at her before he stood and walked to the thin mat that spread across the center of the room. Tenzin’s practice room was exactly as Giovanni remembered it. He doubted it had changed in five hundred years. The ceiling was retractable, the walls were bare except for the impressive collection of weapons that covered two of them, and a small channel of water cut through the room, diverted from the gardens outside.
Giovanni caught the look of obvious interest that Baojia directed toward Beatrice as she crossed the room and headed toward him. She was covered in sweat, and her skin was flushed. She was still breathing heavily when she plopped down next to him.
“Hey,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Sorry I smell.”
He shrugged and pulled her into his lap. “You forget that I lived long before people bathed regularly, Tesoro. A little sweat won’t scare me off.” In fact, as he kissed her neck, he realized that her natural scent was only heightened. She smelled of salt, soap, and the unique honeysuckle and lemon scent that had drawn him from the beginning.
“I love practicing with Tenzin.”
“No bruises today?”
She shook her head. “We were mostly doing tai chi earlier.” A shadow fell across her face, but her gaze was quickly drawn toward the center of the room as Tenzin and Baojia parted and went to opposite walls to choose weapons.
Tenzin selected the long Chinese
jian
and skipped the ancient curved scimitar she usually fought with. She was ruthless when she carried it, but it would not be a good choice for Beatrice since she could not fly.