Page 72 of Crimson Oath
In the back of her mind, she could hear Oleg laughing at her.
The caravan was camped in another scenic meadow, this one overlooking the rolling hills of a valley where twinkling lights glittered on the far side of the river in the distance.
That night there was a play happening in the middle of the meadow with human and vampire players acting out a production ofThe Government Inspector, a ridiculous comedy about mistaken identity and human corruption.
Apparently it was a favorite of the older vampires and humans in the kamvasa. There was a Poshani theater company that did a newplay every week, and while they often performed original stories, there were many human-penned favorites thrown in.
Tatyana walked away from the center circle of paying vampires, with their brightly decorated caravans and constant entertainment, and wandered to the outer circles of the kamvasa where the humans who ran the operation actually lived.
There was something in the air that drew her away from her own kind and toward the nostalgic hum of human life.
Fridays were the most active nights for the Poshani. Children ran through the camp with their friends and cousins, shops and restaurants stayed open longer, and taverns were full.
“Tatyana?”
She turned when she heard a familiar voice.
“It is you.” Rumi smiled. She was one of the human women who spoke fluent Russian and had agreed to tutor her. “What are you doing out here?”
Rumi was a mother of two and one of Sibella’s cousins, but she was also one of the head cooks for the kamvasa. She was in charge of the main dinner at dusk each night when Poshani vampires could join the human darigan for a meal.
That night she was wearing a stained apron and stirring a large pot hanging over a large wood-fed firepit. Tatyana breathed in what smelled like a spicy paprikash or goulash.
“I was just walking.” Tatyana looked around. “I hope that’s okay.”
“You are welcome anywhere in the kamvasa.” Rumi wiped her hands on her apron. “Do you want some food? I know there is a dinner served before the night’s entertainment, but if you’d like something different?—”
“No.” Why had she come? Why had her feet led her away from her fellow immortals and toward the humans, many of whom regarded any non-Poshani vampire with guarded distance.
Bread. She’d been smelling the baking bread.
“I was wondering…” Tatyana felt awkward. “This may seem like a strange request.”
Rumi smiled a little bit. “I have a hard time imagining that you would ask for something strange.” She picked up a long wooden paddle and started to stir the stew again. “Trust me, some of the requests we hear from our paying guests would make your ears bleed.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” Tatyana had found the other paying guests to be more than a little weird.
There were three other vampires staying with the kamvasa who had signed on for the entire season like Tatyana, though she was informed that it wouldn’t be unexpected for some guests to come later or leave early. It all depended on their arrangements with Radu.
Rumi smiled. “Not much surprises me anymore.”
Tatyana watched the fire under the giant pot and thought about Oleg holding fire in his hands like it was a purring cat. “Some of the others are so old I can’t imagine what they would want.”
There was a vampire named Darius who was in the caravan parked next to hers, and the first word that popped into her head when Tatyana met him wasold.
That ancient Persian looked like a statue half the time. He barely stirred, and when he did, he moved so quickly she didn’t know how he blended into the modern world.
Then again, it was very possible he didn’t blend in at all, and that’s why he was a frequent guest of the kamvasa.
Rumi smiled and switched to Poshani. “Do you want to practice your language?”
It would be good to work on her skills with a subject so domestic and friendly.
Tatyana continued in the same language. “Do you have any bread?”
“To eat?”
“No.” She switched back to Russian. “Sorry, I haven’t learned the word in Poshani.” She held out her hands. “Bread to knead. To bake. Anything that you need to bake.”
