Well, Ben didn’t need an invitation. Not anymore.
Though most of the elders had immortal children collected over many centuries, Zhang had only two. For thousands of years, he’d had only one. Tenzin had been it.
And now there was Ben.
As the immortal son of the founder of the island, Ben could come and go at any time, though he’d only spent a little time there since he’d turned. The first year of his immortal life had been spent training in Mongolia, and the second year had mostly consisted of him wandering wherever the hell he wanted, learning the limits and extent of his flying while he tried to avoid thinking too deeply about anything else.
He flew past the marshals and toward the large, square palace on the highest summit of Penglai Island. The traditional structure was divided between the eight immortals with Zhang holding the north-northwest corner as his own. Half the rooms had once belonged to Tenzin, but Tai had apportioned off several of them for Ben’s use when he was there.
He flew to a training room with a retractable roof and saw a human servant stand up straight as he landed.
“Master Vecchio.”
“Just Ben,” he murmured, knowing it was useless to correct them. A part of him liked the formality. In a world that could be radically confusing, the structure of Penglai Island was blessedly welcome. Every type of vampire wore a different color robe, schedules were ruthlessly adhered to, and titles were respected. Servants addressed all vampires with respect and were respected in turn.
Everyone had their role, including him.
He’d landed in Penglai as the human, Benjamin Amir Santiago Vecchio, adopted son of Giovanni Vecchio, friend of Rome and Master of Iron in Lothian. He returned as Benjamin Amir Santiago Rios, Gan Jochi of the Kentii Mountains, Marshal of Penglai Island, bearer of the Laylat al Hisab, and Master of Iron in Lothian.
He walked to the bedroom Tai had made for him and dropped off the backpack he’d brought from Kashgar before stepping behind a screen and removing the dark pants and shirt he’d been wearing when he flew from Kashgar.
He used to think that Tenzin wore black as a statement, and maybe she did. Maybe that was part of it.
The other part was bugs.
So. Many. Bugs.
Flying, he’d discovered early on, was messy. Sure, once you got high enough, the bugs kind of died off, but takeoffs and landings? Lower elevations? They could be a nightmare. No one had warned him about that part, though he had a feeling that Tai and Zhang were laughing on the inside the one time he flew too low over a cabbage field in the middle of summer.
The black clothes went into the laundry that would be cleaned by silent servants, and Ben donned a simple grey robe. It was a uniform, but Ben didn’t mind.
In this place, uniformity was comforting.
He stared at his grey robes in the bathroom mirror. Zhang wore white; all the elders did. The first time Ben had visited Penglai, he’d worn black. It wasn’t only a warrior’s color, it was the color of water, identifying him with his aunt and uncle’s clan.
Now he wore grey like Tai. A concession maybe? He was Zhang’s son but also Giovanni’s. Or was grey simply the color Zhang had chosen for his household?
I have no desire to separate you from your uncle or aunt. I respect family. Nevertheless, you will not be permitted to return to them right now… You are not a water vampire or a fire vampire. You command the air.
Ben hadn’t seen his family on anything other than a screen in over two years.
And Tenzin?
He hadn’t seen her at all.
Memories of his human life were complicated. In the liminal space between waking and sleeping, they flooded through him, clearer than they’d ever been to his mortal mind. He remembered things from his childhood he’d never remembered as a human, facets of memories he’d hidden and locked away. Yet when he woke, even recent memories could be cloudy.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Tell me later.”
“No, I need to tell you now. I need to tell you now, Tenzin.”
A tap came at the door.
“Enter.”
It was Tai. The gracious vampire bowed and smiled when he saw Ben. “It’s good to see you. How was Kashgar?”
“Does he know where I am all the time?” Ben buttoned his robe and straightened his collar in the mirror. Some humans thought vampires didn’t cast reflections. Ha! Most vampires were incredibly vain. They’d languish in despair without mirrors.
Tai glanced around the room. “Zhang knows many people in many places.”
“There was a woman there, at the oasis. She was watching me. She knew my name.”
“Interesting.”
“I thought so.” He jerked his head toward Zhang’s rooms. “So she wasn’t one of his people?”
“Not that I know of, but he doesn’t tell me everything.”
“She told me to answer my mail.”
“Ah.” Tai raised a finger. “That I can help you with. It arrived yesterday.” He paused and looked at Ben. “It’s… substantial.”
“I told Chloe just to send the important stuff.”
“And I believe she did.” Tai pursed his lips. “But you have to remember, you knew many vampires in your human life, and you were sired unexpectedly to a very powerful ancient.”
And rumors flew fast and loose among the immortal. “Okay…?”
“Try to remember what our world runs on, Ben.”
Ben shook his head. “Money?”
“Power,” Tai said. “And favors. Both of which you are a source of now.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “Just how many letters am I looking at here?”
* * *
“Two hundred and thirty-seven?” Ben tried not to yell into the phone. “Chloe, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Excuse me?” Her tone said she wasn’t having even a little
