“Oh really?” she said as she typed.
“Yes, it’s almost unheard of for a vampire to sire out of their element. Water from water. Earth from earth. Wind from wind, and so forth.”
“Huh, that’s interesting. So it’s kind of genetic, I guess.”
“Except for
“Oh really?”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Yes, they tend to just pop up like the bastard redhead every now and then. Anyone can sire them. Water, Air, Earth. Very unpredictable. Bit of a shame, of course.”
She leaned back, curious to see where the clever priest was going with his train of thought. “And why is it a shame?”
“Let’s just say I’m glad I’m not a fire vamp.” His voice dropped. “Glad to never have sired one, either.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat, almost afraid to ask her next question.
“And why is that?”
He put his feet down and rested his arms on the desk. She watched him, transfixed by his vivid blue eyes as the air around her became charged. When he finally spoke, his voice had a low, hypnotic quality to it.
“You see, Beatrice, it’s a dangerous thing to wield fire. Dangerous for yourself, and dangerous for those around you. More than one sire-even a good one-will
“Why-”
“And if the sire doesn’t kill them, the young vampire will often kill himself-purely by accident-and they’ll likely take a few others with them. Very,
“But,” she stuttered, “Gio-”
“Those that do live are usually very gifted, and very strong,” he continued. “And their sires will take advantage of that. Because if you control a fire vampire, Beatrice, you control a very,
Her chest was constricted as she absorbed the implication of what Carwyn was saying. “Did Gio’s sire-”
“Now, I would never want that life for a child of mine. I’d never abuse my influence like
“And you’d have to be very careful how you used your power. Ironically…you’d probably seem a little cold to most people.”
She flashed back to the heat that poured off Giovanni when he held her. What would have happened if he’d lost control? What had Carwyn written to her?
‘
“No, I wouldn’t want to be a fire vampire, because if I managed to live-and wasn’t manipulated as a powerful weapon by the one who made me-I’d most likely live a very lonely life,” Carwyn said quietly. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She nodded and cleared her throat a little. “I understand.”
The now solemn vampire leaned back to relax in his chair. “I knew you were a clever girl.”
“So,” she swallowed the lump in her throat. “If you ever had a fire vampire for a child, do you think…they’d always be alone?”
He shrugged and smiled a little. “I think that all things are possible for him who believes.”
She smiled. “Oh yeah?”
“And I also believe that love can work miracles.”
“Love?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “What about friendship? Can that work miracles, too?”
Carwyn rolled his eyes. “Silly B, love
She burst into laughter, glad he had finally broken the tension that hovered between them. “You are the most ridiculous man I have ever met. And maybe the worst priest.”
“Or the
She snorted. “I’ll take it into consideration.” She turned back to her computer and opened a paper she was supposed to be working on. Carwyn opened the book and began to read, still sneaking glances at her until she finally sighed in frustration.
“What now? I really should get some work done.”
“Come back to work. He’s far more of a pain in the ass since you’ve been gone. He pretends nothing’s wrong, but he’s all mopey and has no sense of humor. I think he might hurt my dog if you don’t.”
“Nice blackmail, Father.”
He shrugged and only looked at her with hopeful eyes.
She finally smiled. “I wasn’t going to stay away forever, you know.”
“Will you tell me why you left?”
She shook her head firmly. “No.”
“I tell you all sorts of things,” he muttered.
“You have got to be the most immature thousand year old I’ve ever met.”
He folded his arms and scowled. “I’m not even going to offer the most obvious retort to that.”
She smirked as she watched him but realized, if there was one person she instinctively trusted in this whole messy world she had found herself in, it was Carwyn. As far as she could tell, he had no ulterior motive to tell her anything, and he always answered her questions.
“Bad choices about men, remember?” she finally said, referring to their last conversation in the reading room. “Trying to make better choices in life, Carwyn. When it comes to…you know.”
He stared at her for a moment before he nodded. “Understood.”
“And don’t say a word to-”
“Count Prissypants tells me nothing. Therefore, I tell him nothing.”
She sighed. “I was actually going to say Caspar. I think he and my grandma are thick as thieves now.”
His eyes lit up. “Oooh, let’s gossip about them, shall we?”
Beatrice smiled, gave up, and shut down her computer.
Chapter Thirteen
The first thing Giovanni smelled when he walked into the house at three in the morning early Friday was the
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He had hoped she would come back to work before he needed to leave for New York. In the back of his mind, he entertained a fanciful notion of taking her with him and showing her the lights of Manhattan, taking her to a play, or walking through the Met.
“You’re back.”
He turned when he heard Caspar at the kitchen door.
“I am. Why are you still awake? And is there anything I need to know?” Giovanni busied himself emptying his pockets on the counter and looking through the mail Caspar had set out.
“I’m awake because I wanted to talk to you. I’m sure you’ve realized B is back at work. She and her grandmother had dinner here earlier in the evening. Also, I am completely smitten with Isadora.”
“I don’t blame you one bit. She’s a charming woman,” he mumbled as he looked through the file of e-mails
