Page 151 of Dawn Caravan
Tenzin stepped forward and raised her hands. “This is a mystery easily solved. Is anyone missing a daughter?”
There was muttering, but no one spoke.
“A mother?” Tenzin asked. “A sister? Afriend? Have any of your women or girls gone missing?” After a long thread of silence, Tenzin turned to Vano. “I wouldneverbetray the hospitality of the kamvasa.” She turned to Kezia. “As a daughter of Kali, I swear it.”
Kezia turned to Vano and raised her finger. “You have betrayed us.”
“She’s lying!” Vano yelled. “They are thieves! I would never—”
“Why would she lie?” Radu raised the emerald goblet. “Our dishana have been returned to us. Only yours is withheld. Would thieves do that?” Radu looked at the Hazar. “Take him.”
The crowd erupted in shouts and cries as the Hazar flew toward Vano and grabbed him by the arms and legs before he could fly away.
“You!” Vano screamed at Ben. “I let you live! I showed you mercy—”
“You tried to kill Tenzin.” Ben rose and flew toward Vano. He flung the Hazar away from the vampire with a sweep of his arm; then he grabbed Vano by the throat.
For the first time since he’d turned, Ben gave in to the rage and the power that simmered just below the surface of his tightly controlled exterior.
Squeezing Vano’s throat until the man couldn’t speak, Ben hissed in the vampire’s ear. “You’re so smart, Vano. So tell me what I’m going to do right now.”
Vano attempted to wiggle away, and Ben gripped the side his head and slid his thumb dangerously close to Vano’s left eye socket.
“Give me a reason.” Ben’s voice was so eerily calm he barely recognized himself. “Shall I take an eye for a souvenir? Rip off an ear?”
Vano’s response was only a gurgle.
“I can smell your blood,” Ben said. “I hear it pooling in your mouth. Your lungs. How does it feel to swim in your own blood, you bastard?”
Vano’s blue eyes burned into Ben’s with so much hatred Ben was surprised he didn’t feel a burn.
“If I didn’t trust Radu and Kezia to do something far worse, I would rip your head from your shoulders with my two hands.” He nodded at the hovering Hazar and shoved Vano toward them, but not before he felt the crunch of Vano’s cheekbone as it collapsed under his grip.
Ben landed next to Tenzin on the stage and put an arm around her shoulders. “Radu, my friend, I believe I have met the terms of our arrangement.” He nodded at the emerald goblet in Radu’s hand. “Tenzin and I have protected the sacred goblet of the Poshani terrin.”
And I managed to hide the fact that it was stolen from you to begin with.
Radu’s eyes were glowing with satisfaction. “You have.” He turned to Tenzin. “My dear Tenzin, you are in an unusual position.”
Tenzin smiled a little. “That happens sometimes.”
“You possess the ruby goblet of the Poshani terrin.” Kezia stepped forward. “You are an old friend, known to the kamvasa.” Kezia turned to the crowd. “Tenzin of Penglai, commander of the Altan Wind, daughter of the Kali, protector and bearer of the ruby dishana!”
The Poshani crowd, vampire and human alike, cheered around them. Some began shouting her name. Others threw flowers on the stage.
Tenzin turned to Ben. “This could be a problem.”
“This was your plan, Tiny.” Ben looked around nervously. “Think fast. I don’t think we want to be stuck here for the next hundred years.”
“Ideas?” She glanced around the festival and tried to smile. It looked like she was baring her teeth; unfortunately, that only made the Poshani cheer harder.
“You want ideas to get out of this?” Ben muttered.
“Please.”
He racked his brain furiously for a way out.
Then he had it.
