Matt said, “You learned something in school that you didn’t already know?”

“Haha.”

“The point is,” Beatrice continued, “Livia’s place should have all sorts of water around her house, but she doesn’t. And all the vampires in her court seem really weak.”

Carwyn said, “Tenzin would say it’s because most of them drink donated blood and live in such a modern environment. The longer I live, the more I think she may be on to something.”

“If anything,” Beatrice said, “her house would favor earth and wind vampires, with all the open ground and the stone castle.”

“She has a castle?” Ben asked. “Cool.”

“Maybe that’s why Matilda has always seemed so haughty,” Giovanni mused.

“Who’s Matilda?” three voices asked at once.

Carwyn spoke. “Tall. Blond. She’s German. About my age. Very powerful wind vampire. She and Livia hate each other.”

“Too many queen bees.” Dez nodded. “There can be only one.”

Matt snorted. “You watch too much T.V.”

“Okay, so that’s the blonde I noticed,” Beatrice said. “Yeah, she felt strong. Who’s the huge guy? Really tall. Big laugh. He looked African? His energy was strong, too.”

Giovanni nodded. “He is. That’s Bomeni. He’s Ethiopian, but he’s not as old, maybe my age.”

“Who’s his sire?” Beatrice leaned forward with interest. He suspected she was thinking about Geber’s four blood donors. The Ethiopian he had written about was an earth vampire and a female.

“I don’t know. It’s a possibility we should investigate. He is an earth vampire from the right part of the world.”

“Okay, so the most powerful vampires I noticed were Matilde, Bomeni, and Emil Conti, who is... water?”

“Yes.”

“And then the weird guy.”

He frowned. “What weird guy?”

“You didn’t notice him?”

Giovanni shook his head. “Notice who?”

“There was this old vampire. He didn’t just feel old—he looked it. Scarred face. Maybe North African? He was wearing these long robes. He looked out of place, to be honest. His amnis was weird. Kind of swirling around him, almost visible in some strange way. If I had to guess, I’d say he was a wind vampire, but I’m just guessing. Something about him reminded me of Tenzin.”

Carwyn looked at Giovanni. “That sounds like Ziri.”

“If Ziri was there, how could I have missed him?”

Beatrice looked between them. “Who’s Ziri?”

Carwyn shrugged. “You hear strange stories about Ziri. With his age and power, it’s hard to say what’s true. I know one vampire, who is not an imaginative sort, say that Ziri melted into the air in front of him.”

Giovanni scowled. “Impossible.”

Matt piped up. “Hey, they say that at some point transporter technology may be feasible. We are creatures made up of mostly empty space at an atomic level. Maybe Ziri has just taken a leap.”

Giovanni said, “Be that as it may, it sounds like Beatrice saw him last night. He’s the only one that fits her description, and he does visit Rome on occasion.”

“He doesn’t live here?” Ben asked. “In Rome?”

“He doesn’t really live anywhere that I know of,” Giovanni said. “He was probably a nomad in his human life—he’s very old—and couple that with a wind element... He roams.”

“And right now, he’s roaming in Rome.” Ben snorted, looking around when no one laughed. He slumped in his seat. “Tenzin would have laughed.”

They quickly finished their meal and cleaned up the kitchen before they went to the living room for drinks.

“So,” Beatrice asked, “no fire vampires in Livia’s court?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Just me. She doesn’t like them.”

“Just you.”

He shrugged. “Just me.”

Carwyn said, “Oh, she loves Gio, all right.”

Beatrice raised her eyebrows. “Okay, so it’s not just me that was getting the incest vibe. Good to know.”

“She’s not my mother!”

“Still, Sparky.” Carwyn leaned against the fireplace. “You have to admit she’s always been very... affectionate with you.”

“Ew,” Ben said as he sat on the couch and began to nibble at the dish of dry, sugared fruit that Angela set out. “That’s so gross.”

Matt grinned. “You probably wouldn’t say that if you saw her.”

Dez elbowed him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she’s incredibly beautiful,” Beatrice said. “Really, stunningly beautiful. She looks like she should be a model, or something.”

Giovanni cleared his throat. “Let’s get back to business. Now that Carwyn’s here, we have enough people to start getting some information. Matt, your main job is still going to be security, but Ben is old enough that he can do some, as well.”

“Really?” Ben sat up straighter.

“Yes, Matt will get a firearm for you. Carry it with you when you go out, especially if Dez goes with you. And your knives. Carry those, as well.”

The boy suddenly looked nervous. “Am I going to get in all sorts of trouble if I get caught with them, though?”