Anne reached in her handbag and drew out a narrow bottle of very high-end vodka she must have swiped from one of Terry’s cars. “I found reinforcements,” she said. “Just in case.”

“No no,” the Russian demurred. “The beer is fine.”

“Oleg, you hate beer.”

He paused. “I do hate beer.” He let loose a stream of Russian that sounded very complimentary as he opened the bottle and went to the bar to help himself to three glasses. Murphy had no idea how to speak Russian. He wondered if Anne did.

“Beautiful woman,” Oleg finally said as he poured for them all. “You are a treasure, Anne O’Dea. Irishman, I would steal her from you if I did not see so much happiness in her eyes.”

Oleg raised his glass and offered some toast Murphy assumed was the equivalent of sláinte in Russian. Then he and Anne followed Oleg’s lead and sipped the vodka, which was decent, though Murphy had never been a fan of the liquor.

“So yes,” the Russian continued. “Zara was a good choice to run my ports in the south. Luana was often with her there. They were happy—as much as Luana was ever happy. It was peaceful… mostly. But then I hear rumors. I ignore them. Zara makes me too much money. And then more rumors. Even after Luana died, I ignored many of the rumors because it was easier. Zara was effective. And I did not have to deal with her if she was in the south.”

“What happened two years ago?” Murphy asked.

“I discovered Zara had stolen the remaining Elixir from me,” Oleg said. “There were pallets Livia had hidden. The Roman thought the rest of us were stupid.” Oleg shrugged. “Maybe the others were, because they are dead. I am not. I watched Livia carefully. After I discovered what this… poison did to humans, I wanted nothing to do with it. Madness, I thought. What do we have to gain from poisoning the humans? Would the mortals kill all their cattle? Salt their own fields? It was then I realized that Livia was as insane as my mate had been. I left her in Rome when Vecchio arrived. Then I instructed my people to steal the remaining Elixir and secure it in one of my warehouses in Moscow.”

“Why the hell didn’t you destroy it?” Murphy asked.

“Do you know how to destroy Elixir?” Oleg asked. “Please tell me. Do I burn it and risk putting it into the atmosphere? Do I dilute it? I didn’t know enough about it to safely destroy it, so I secured it—I thought—and figured that I would destroy it when I discovered how.” He shrugged. “I didn’t think anyone would steal it because who would be enough of an idiot to want to take a poison?”

Anne said, “You forgot that Zara likes to manipulate people for fun.”

“See?” Oleg tapped his temple. “This is why I should have seduced you fifty years ago, lapochka. You would keep me from forgetting things like this. Yes, Zara likes to… twist people. Manipulate them. She finds it amusing, like Luana did.”

Murphy asked, “Was she involved with the initial theft?”

“Not directly. She was a lover to one of my lieutenants in Moscow. He is the one she convinced to help steal the Elixir. He is dead now. Unfortunately, Zara still had the Elixir. By the time I discover my man’s betrayal, Zara had already become the Greek’s lover. I cannot openly oppose Laskaris, or he will cut off my access to the Bosphorus. Zara will not return to St. Petersburg to face punishment from me, of course. So I cut her off. I close all her accounts and tell her she is no longer under my aegis and must leave my home in Sevastopol.”

Murphy asked, “And her settlement?”

No sire, even the most evil, would release a child from their aegis without a financial settlement. It wasn’t a matter of the worthiness of the child, but the resources of the sire. To release a vampire without providing for their independence would be seen as an embarrassment to anyone, but especially a vampire like Oleg, who had vast wealth.

“Her settlement is generous, of course,” Oleg said with an evil smile. “Millions in gold waiting for her in a chest in my home. All she has to do is come retrieve it.”

Murphy had to admire the vampire. No immortal could find fault with his cunning. Zara had been provided for, but not without facing discipline from her sire. And Murphy knew firsthand that no vampire would interfere with a sire’s discipline of their offspring.

“But she refused to come to you,” he said. “And she went to Laskaris.”

“I’m sure the old Greek finds her very exciting. And she has made him much money, some of which I’m sure she has probably put into producing more Elixir.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am sure of very little with Zara. If she is producing it, Athens is not ignorant.”

Murphy said, “Laskaris may know about it and not care. Athens will see this as an opportunity to raise their profile. To be a world power again, which they’ve been wanting for some time. Libya looks poised to become a major power again with Inaya’s rise to power. That would leave Athens as the oldest and most static player in the Old World. They won’t like that.”

“But Zara isn’t in London?” Anne asked. “You’re sure of it?”

“I’m positive.”

“So who is she using in London?”

Oleg shook his head. “I have no idea about this, my friend. She likes money, and she’ll be careful with Laskaris, at least for some time. So look for some financial incentive. Whoever is helping her will be wealthy, or be convinced that Zara can make him wealthy.”