Page 80 of Dawn Caravan
“Not even a glance?”
“There was a replica put in its place. Good enough that a glance wasn’t enough to register a forgery.”
“I see. Do you still have the forgery?”
“Yes.”
Ben was already narrowing down his options. A forgery meant this wasn’t a crime of opportunity. Someone hadn’t stumbled across an emerald goblet and not been able to help themselves. This was planned, deliberate, and familiar.
“You said you’d narrowed it down,” Ben said. “How?”
“I have pursued every guest we had during that window of time. Most were easy to eliminate, but there were five who stood out. Five who would know the value of the item they stoleandthe significance.”
“And what is the significance?”
For the first time, Ben saw Radu’s anger simmering behind his dark brown eyes.
“The emerald goblet is one of three that were given to the oldest of our people, a chief who was turned into a vampire by an ancient immortal king. The goblets were a gift from a Persian ruler to our chief, and they passed to his three immortal children. One made of emerald, one of citrine, and one of ruby.”
“Three terrin. Three goblets. I’m getting the idea.”
“My sister is the keeper of the citrine, and my brother is the keeper of the ruby. The Poshani will host the Vashana festival in three weeks’ time, but this year is the Vashana Zata, which only happens every hundred years. The current terrin must present their goblets to the Poshaniya, and if they choose a successor—as I have considered doing this year—they must pass their goblet to them as a sign of leadership passing from one power to the next.”
Oh shit. “Did you say three weeks?”
Radu nodded slowly. “As I mentioned earlier, Benjamin Vecchio, I am running out of options.”
21
Ben and Radu strolled through the camp, the Poshani leader nodding to groups as he passed. In the background, a band of musicians played traditional music nearly to the point of being too loud.
“The volume of the music and position of the players provides a level of privacy,” Radu said softly. “But know that ears are everywhere.”
“I understand.”
Two vampires were playing a game of chess on a table set up near the fire. Another was watching as a group of human men and women practiced an elaborate dance.
The camp had the feeling of a traveling village, with cooking smells drifting through the air and music ringing through the night. A few children played along the outskirts, and a lazy dog lounged near a fire.
“It’s very welcoming,” Ben said. It was the highest compliment he could think to give Radu, who valued hospitality so much.
“Thank you.” The vampire beamed. “We like to think of ourselves as providing an important service to our guests.”
“Do you hide anyone?” He kept his voice nearly silent.
“Yes and no. Do we hide those whom some might consider criminals? Perhaps. It is not our way to judge others. If you have done our people no harm, no harm will come to you. But all three of us—Kezia, Vano, and myself—have discretion to choose or reject guests. The safety of our people, including the vampires who stay with us, is our top priority.”
Ben glanced around. “So according to everyone here, who am I?”
“You are another guest who has paid me a great deal to make him disappear.” Radu’s voice remained low. “You wouldn’t be the first powerful newborn who has sought our protection while they come to terms with their new life. We don’t take the bloodthirsty of course. But after the first year, some find shelter with us.”
“Good to know.” Ben saw a familiar face across the camp, the strange woman who’d been following him in Kashgar, along with her plain-faced vampire guard.
Oh, hello.
Her eyes rose as if she could hear him, and the corner of her mouth turned up. She was even more enchanting in firelight, a sphinx of a woman with mysterious dark eyes and an enigmatic expression.
Radu followed his eyes. “I believe you met Kezia in Xinjiang.”
