“Sadi?”
“Yeah?” She was reaching for her feet behind her back.
“Why do you want to be a vampire when you grow up?”
She nearly caught her toes, but she toppled over in the dark blanket fort. “’Caaaaause Mama and Baba are vampires. And you are. And when I’m grown up, then I’ll be a vampire too and then Mama and Baba and you and me can be a family forever.”
Ben had the urge to hug the screen, but it wouldn’t be as satisfying as hugging Sadia. “That makes sense.”
“I know. And Tenzin will be in our family too.” She was reaching for her toes again. “And Dema and Zain, but they won’t be vampires.”
“You’ve got it all planned out.”
“I know! Don’t you think it’s a good idea? Mama says it’s good to plan things.”
“Yeah, she’s right.” Ben was fighting the urge to cry. He cleared his throat. “Tell me what you learned in school this week.”
Sadia launched into a litany. She loved reading books, and she extra loved playing on the giant grand piano in the music room. She did not like Latin and said it was boring and Mandarin was more fun because she already had a screen friend in Hong Kong she could talk Mandarin with, but none of her friends knew about Latin even though Baba loved it best.
His baby sister switched fluidly between English, Italian, and Spanish, though she sometimes confused things in Italian and Spanish. She spoke Arabic with Dema but never with Ben. She was quick, curious, and had more than her share of attitude.
Ben refused to think about himself at Sadia’s age. She lived in a different world than he had, and Ben was happy for it. She chattered like a bird, nothing at all like the suspicious, wounded toddler he’d first met. She was cautious with those outside her family, but within, she was a glittering star.
Ben could feel dawn approaching. “Sadi?”
Her blinks were also getting long, and she’d lain down in the blanket fort, resting her cheek on her arms. “Yeah?”
“I need to go to bed, and I think you do too.”
“Okay.” Another long blink. “Baba said you were with Tenzin.”
“Um. Yeah, she’s here.”
“She’s there?”
“Not right here. Not this time.”
“Next time?”
Ben was hoping that by next week Tenzin would be out of his life, but how was he supposed to tell Sadia that? “I’ll tell her to call you, okay?”
“Okay.” Sadia yawned. “Love you forever, Benny.”
“Love you for always, Sadi.”
He ended the video call and tried to contemplate a world where he didn’t get to see Sadia grow up. Where he wasn’t able to watch over her.
“I didn’t want to die yet.”
“You won’t.”
16
The flight to Budapest took a little over two hours, so Ben, Tenzin, Gavin, and Chloe used their time the next night to go over Ben’s notes about the Hungarian collector.
Ben put the man’s picture in the center of the table. “Gergo Farkas is pretty notorious with human authorities. Collector is a generous term. He does collect and he does deal on the legitimate market now, but he started out as a thief. Probably retired now.”
“This guy?” Chloe held up the picture. “He looks like a bookkeeper.”
The nondescript man in the photo looked like he was in his early seventies and was wearing a dull brown suit and a tweed cap.
“Don’t be fooled by his appearance. He’s successful because he skates under most radars. He wants to be forgettable.”
“Farkas is more than successful. He’s brilliant.” Tenzin was glowing. “Such a beautiful thief. Some of the best work I’ve seen from a human. He stole the Caravaggio Nativity, and it was not ruined like they said. That part was fiction.”
Gavin said, “Really? I thought that was two men?”
“No, it was Farkas and a partner. A woman. No one ever found it.”
“I thought the mob had that one,” Ben said.
Tenzin waved her hand. “Not even close.”
Ben glanced at the photo. “Farkas’s residence has been a mystery for years, even among his close associates. The only reason we have this location is because apparently, someone very private and very mysterious owed my aunt a favor.”
Gavin looked at the map spread on the table. “How far outside of Budapest is this?”
“No more than an hour by air,” Ben said. “I think it’s best if Tenzin and I go in by ourselves.”
“Agreed,” Tenzin said. “Chloe, we’ll keep in touch with you via Cara.”
“Sounds good to me.” She leaned into Gavin’s shoulder. “I bet there’s a safe, comfy place I can hang out.”
“Of course, dove.” Gavin was still looking at the map. “So you’re breaking into Farkas’s house.”
“Yes. It’s near Lake Balaton.” Ben put more pictures on the table. “An old baroque mansion with a winery attached. Farkas runs the winery now. Claims to be totally legitimate of course, but access to the house is limited. As far as I can tell, there are no pictures of the interior. No plans of any kind on file at city or county offices. He doesn’t get visitors. He entertains a little, but it’s all at the winery, not the house.”
“Big old house like that,” Chloe said. “Lots of walls. So many possibilities.” She nudged Gavin. “If you want to go…”
“No, it’s fine.” Gavin stared at the pictures. “Totally fine. I don’t need to go.”
Tenzin said, “You can come if you want.”
Gavin looked at Tenzin, then at Chloe. “No. It’s fine.”
Chloe broke into peals of laughter. “Oh, you so want to go break into the old art thief’s house!”
“No.” Gavin straightened his tie. “I’m a legitimate businessman now. Not some thieving rake.”
“Well, we’re not thieving rakes.” Ben looked at Tenzin, then back to Gavin. “We’re going to break in the thieving rake’s house and then… recover an icon that rightfully belongs to Radu.”
Chloe asked, “And we know it belongs to Radu how?”
“Because” —Ben cleared his throat— “he told us so.”
Chloe pursed her lips. “Just admit that you have different standards about
