A Hidden Fire: Elemental Mysteries Book 1 (32 page)

A few hours later, they had reached a large wood-shingled house that butted up to one of the granite cliffs.  A covered porch stretched around the low structure and jutted out over a green meadow surrounded by towering trees.  The interior was lit, and Giovanni could see dark smoke coming from the chimney.

Beatrice woke when they stopped in front of the house and waited for Giovanni to dismount.  He held out his arms and she slid to the ground, stretching muscles that would be sore from the four hour trek.

“I’ll put these in the stable for you,” Gustavo said as he grabbed the halter of Giovanni’s horse.  “You can use them while you’re here, I’ll send one of the Reverte boys over to tend them in the morning.”

“Thank you, Gustavo.”

Beatrice looked around.  The house was clearly visible in the moonlight, and its small windows glowed gold.  He could hear Isabel puttering inside and knew his friend would have already stocked the house with everything Beatrice might need for her stay.

“This is my home.  Isabel and Gustavo let me build here many years ago.”

She looked around.  “It’s beautiful.”

He nodded and motioned her up the path.  “It should be warmer inside.  Isabel has already started a fire.”

“She’s Carwyn’s daughter?”

“Yes, and Gustavo is her husband.  Their clan watches the valley.”

“Clan?” She frowned in confusion as they walked toward the house.

“They’re earth vampires.”

“What does that mean?”

He continued walking and she followed beside him.  “Earth vampires are very domestic.  Like Carwyn, they tend to settle and have big families.  They usually prefer remote places like this.”

They climbed onto the porch and she followed him when he stomped the mud off his boots and placed them under a bench.  He opened the door and showed her in, immediately taking a deep breath to enjoy the familiar scent of home.

“Giovanni?” he heard Isabel call from the kitchen, walking toward them with open arms.

He glanced over at Beatrice, curious how she would perceive the friendly vampire.  Like her father, Isabel was one of the most loyal and friendly immortals he had ever met, and her gracious demeanor spilled out in her greeting.  Unlike Carwyn, she was Spanish, appeared to be in her late forties, and was around the same age Giovanni was in vampire years.

She kissed both his cheeks as they exchanged quiet greetings.

“Beatrice.”  She turned to the girl.  “It’s wonderful to meet you.  I’m sure you’re exhausted after your journey, so we must visit another time.  There are clothes in the front bedroom, and the bathroom is stocked.  There are no electric lamps, but there is running water and plenty of candles throughout the house.”

Giovanni scowled, forgetting that Beatrice might be disturbed by the lack of electricity in the valley.  She didn’t say anything except a quiet ‘thank you’ as Isabel kissed both her cheeks and departed.  He showed her down the hall and indicated two doors.

“This is your room for as long as you want it.  The bathroom is across from it.  My room is at the back of the house,” he said.  “Part of it is cut into the rocks, but your room has windows, so it won’t be dark during the daytime.”

“It’s fine,” she murmured.

He stood motionless, suddenly nervous to be alone with her and wishing he could secure her in his own room.

“Beatrice—”

“I think I’ll wash up and go to my room.  Are there books I could borrow?”

“There are always books.”  He smirked and nodded toward the front room.  “Help yourself to any from the bookcases in the living room.  I keep most of my personal collection here.”

She smiled for a moment before her eyes clouded.  “Fine, I’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

“Did you want me to—”

“Good night,” she said abruptly.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded silently, confused by the sudden shift in her demeanor.  He checked the doors, windows, and any other access points, securing them before he went to his room in the back of the house.  He was reluctant to leave her, even with the knowledge of Isabel and Gustavo’s ever-present guards, but he sensed she wanted to be alone.

Giovanni could feel the pull of dawn dragging him under when he heard the first soft cries from her room, and when he dreamed, her accusing eyes haunted him.

He woke when the sun set and threw on a pair of pants before he went to Beatrice’s room, noticing that her scent lingered in the hallway outside his door.  He stood in the hallway, listening for her, but did not sense anyone in the house.  Walking out to the kitchen, he noticed traces of her littering the main room, and a fire burned in the large stone hearth.  No note indicated her whereabouts, and he immediately began to worry.  He walked out to the porch, still barefoot, and searched the dim forest.

His ears picked up Isabel’s voice calling through the trees.  “Cálmate, Gio.  You pace like an irritated cat.  She’s at our house; some of the boys were teaching her to ride.  She’s fine.”

He halted on the porch, waiting for Isabel to emerge from the trees before he responded.

“She needs to leave me a note if she’s going to leave the house.  I was about—”

“Ay, yes, you’d burn down your lovely piece of forest with worry.  You’re such an old man!  Calm down.”

He sank into one of the large chairs that decorated the porch and scowled.  “I am the same age as you.”

Isabel rolled her eyes.  “You know what I mean.  And put some clothes on.  You’re not impressing me with your muscles and I’m cold just looking at you.”  She pretended to shiver as he opened his mouth to respond, but she only held up a hand.  “I don’t care if you’re a walking space heater.  Go get dressed.”

Scowling, he went back to his room to change into a pair of the jeans he kept at the house and a long-sleeved thermal shirt.  He walked back to Isabel, who sat on the porch, staring up at the stars and smiling a little.

“Father said she was bright, but I didn’t really believe him.”  She winked at Giovanni as he leaned against a dark wooden post and stared into the forest.  “A human?  And after all, who in her right mind would get involved with you?”

“You’re so amusing,” he said as he scanned the tree line, searching for a hint of her.

“But she is.  Very smart.  And bold.  She found her way to the lodge house today and tried to find someone to teach her how to ride a horse.”

Isabel let out a tinkling laugh.  “She had this very elaborate story worked out for Esteban’s family, because she didn’t know what they knew about us.  They let her know she didn’t have anything to hide, and then one of the boys started giving her lessons.”

“Which one?”

“Does it matter?” she asked with a curious brow.  “Oh, I see that it does.”

She smirked and looked toward the trees again.  “One of the big strapping ones that leads the rock-climbing trips, I think.”

Giovanni growled and walked down the porch steps before she started laughing at him.  “She’s with Gustavo now, calm yourself.  He’ll bring her back shortly.”

He curled a lip at her, but she just chuckled.  He’d never had an older sister as a human, but had always imagined if he had, she would have been a lot like Isabel. He walked back onto the porch and sat next to her in a chair.  He could feel the weight of unasked questions hanging over them as they waited for Beatrice to return.

“What happened to the girl, Giovanni?  Her eyes are too sad for someone so young.”

“I can’t—” He cleared his throat.  “You need to ask her that question.  It’s her story to tell when she wants.”

She snorted.  “You infuriating man, I only put up with your secrets because I know you do it to everyone.”

“It’s not my place—”

“Blah, blah, blah.  I’ve heard it a million times, you don’t have to repeat yourself,” she muttered.  “At least I know if I tell you a secret, your lips are sealed.”

He shrugged and watched the trail leading to the lodge.  He could hear the faint sounds of Beatrice and Gustavo as they made their way through the forest, and his heart started a quick beat.  Isabel must have heard it, and she looked at him.

“Are you in love with her?”

He stood up and walked to the railing, unwilling to share his feelings, even with someone he trusted as much as Isabel.

“I think you are.”  She paused before she continued quietly.  “She’s very young, my friend.”

He nodded.  “I know.”

“And she’s been hurt.”

“Yes.”

She stared at him until he met her dark, piercing gaze.  He could hear Beatrice and Gustavo coming through the forest.

Isabel took a deep, calming breath.  “I’ll pray for you.  For both of you.”

His head turned when the two riders broke through the trees. He watched Beatrice ride the horse through the lush meadow.  Her skin was pale and almost seemed to glow in the twilight.  A healthy flush stained her cheeks, and a smile crossed her face as she listened to something Gustavo was joking about; but the light did not reach her eyes when they finally met his.

“Thank you, Isabel.  For your help.  For everything.”

“You are welcome, my friend.  You are both welcome.”

Giovanni and Beatrice fell into a careful rhythm together in Cochamó, as they had from the beginning of their relationship.  She explored the valley during the day, accompanied by one of the human family that worked for Gustavo and Isabel running the small tourist lodge.  She would come back to the house to eat a quiet meal and read before going to sleep.  There was no electricity in the house, but stone fireplaces warmed every room, and running water came from an old tower that stood next to the stable.

They spoke little, and her silence, which usually soothed him, began to tug at him the longer it continued.  She would not speak about her time with Lorenzo, and only occasionally would their conversation venture farther than incidental information about the valley or its residents.

Worse than her silence were the weeping dreams she had every night when she finally fell asleep.  He sat, silently crouched outside her bedroom door for hours, as she cried and murmured in her sleep and the memories tormented her.  Her heart raced, and he could scent her panic throughout the house.  As much as he tried to respect her privacy, eventually Giovanni tried to enter her room and wake her, only to find the door locked tight.

By the seventh night, he could no longer take the escalating nightmares.

“Dad…no,” she sobbed.  “Gio, don’t…don’t let them—” She broke off and he could hear her cries come through the thick wooden door.

He rose from his knees and pushed his way inside, breaking the lock in one swift shove before he walked to her bed and knelt beside her, anxiously stroking her hair.

“Beatrice,” he said through gritted teeth, “please, wake up. 
Please
—”

Her eyes flickered open and he cupped her face in his hands, brushing the tears away with his thumbs as she stared at him with swollen eyes.

“Tell me what to do,” he whispered desperately.  “I cannot…what would you have me do?  I will do anything—”

“Don’t let them take me,” she said in a hollow voice.

Giovanni gave a hoarse groan and pulled her into his arms, clutching her to his chest as he rocked her in his arms.  She tensed for a moment, but finally heaved a great sigh and let her head rest on his shoulder.  He sat on the bed, stroking her hair and rocking her back and forth.

He cradled her as the waning moon streamed through her window.  Finally, he reached over to the bedside table and lit a candle.  He was wearing only a pair of loose pants, and he felt her tears hot on his chest.

“Do you want to forget?” he asked.  “I can make you forget.  Maybe everything.  Is it better that way?”  He ignored the ache in his chest, and waited for her to respond.

“Will
you
remember?”

He tilted her face toward his, memorizing the silver tracks on her cheeks and her swollen eyes.  He locked away the sound of her nightmares in his mind, and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her panic as it stained the air.

“Yes.  I will remember everything.”

She nodded, and he finally saw a familiar hint of steel return to her eyes.

“If you can remember, I can remember.”

He bent his head and kissed her softly on the forehead, then on each cheek, and finally laid a soft kiss on her mouth, as if sealing a promise.  She made no move to leave his embrace, so he tucked her head under his chin and leaned against the headboard.

“Giovanni?”

“Yes?”

“Tell me your story.”

He closed his eyes and hugged her, letting out a sigh before he began in a low voice.

“My name is Jacopo, and I was seven when my Uncle Giovanni found me…”

Chapter Twenty-four

Cochamó Valley, Chile

August 2004

S
he listened for hours, wrapped in his warm arms as he told her the tale of a small boy, plucked out of poverty by the friends of a beloved uncle.  He had been an indulged child after his early years, fed a steady diet of art, philosophy, religion, and learning in a time of flowering human achievement.

Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, after adopting his older brother’s illegitimate son, treated Jacopo more like a cherished younger brother than a bastard.  His three friends; Angelo Poliziano, the scholar, Girolamo Benivieni, the poet, and Girolamo Savaranola, the monk; followed suit.

The four surrounded the boy with knowledge and love, each contributing a part to the young man he became, and each unaware of the hovering danger that lurked in the beautiful form of Signore Niccolo Andros, a water vampire of unspeakably ancient power.

“When did you first meet him?  Your sire?” she asked as he carried her to his bedroom to escape the first stirrings of dawn.  He settled her on top of his large bed, then walked back to her bedroom for blankets, since he slept with none.

“Andros?” he called.  “My uncle first met him in Lorenzo’s court in 1484.  It was the same visit to Florence when he first met me.”

Giovanni walked back in the bedroom, which was finished in plaster and wood on three walls.  The far wall, at the head of the Giovanni’s bed, was hewn granite and the candlelight in the room caused the black flecks in the stone to dance.

“I first met Andros when my uncle visited his villa in Perugia.  He had collected an extraordinary library and gave my uncle many rare books and manuscripts to study, though I later learned he had always intended to take them back.  Andros’s books are the real treasure, tesoro.  My uncle’s books are valuable to me, but Andros’s library was legendary.”

He arranged the blankets over her before crawling in the bed, and settling a warm arm around her waist. “It had no equal I have ever seen.  Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Hebrew, Persian.  Even some Sumerian clay tablets.  He’d amassed it over twenty-five hundred years, and inherited other manuscripts from his own sire, who I never met.  It was an astonishing collection.”

Since he’d woken her from the nightmare that had plagued her for weeks, Giovanni couldn’t seem to stop touching her.  As tumultuous as her feelings toward him were, she found his presence comforting, and his touch seemed to warm the persistent chill that had tormented her since the night she’d fallen into Lorenzo’s hands.

“And Lorenzo still has it?”

He shrugged.  “He must.  It was all housed together after my uncle died.  So if he has my uncle’s books—”

“At least you got those back, right?”

She felt his arm tighten around her waist.

“I did.”

There was a long silence as the memory of that night nudged at her.  Finally, she heard him whisper, “I haven’t even looked at them.”

Her breath caught. “None?”

“Caspar had them shipped here for safekeeping, but…”

She nodded and put her hand over his arm, weaving her fingers with his.

“We should look at them.”

“Not tonight.”

“No, tell me more about when you met your uncle.”

 He paused before he continued.  “It was all in 1484.  It was a very eventful year.”

“What else happened?”

She felt him sigh and she curled into his chest.  “He met Lorenzo de Medici that trip, and then me, and then Andros, of course.  Andros had been lingering in the Medici court.”

“Why?”

“Why was my sire in Florence?  He told me later he was ready to create a child—he never had before—and he wanted to pick from the brightest of the city.”  Giovanni propped his head up on his hand and looked at her.  “He was looking for a ‘Renaissance man,’ I suppose.  Initially, he set his sights on my uncle, but then my uncle disappointed him.”

“How did he disappoint him?  Not smart enough?”

“Oh no, my uncle was brilliant,” he said wistfully.  “No, Giovanni fell in love.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and remembered the slim book of sonnets he’d held in his hand the night she was taken.  “With Giuliana?”

He nodded, and lay his head on the pillow next to hers, lifting a hand to play with a strand of her hair.  “He met her in Arezzo, visiting an acquaintance.  She was married…not her choice, of course, but it never was then.  Her husband was cruel and dull.  Even Lorenzo hated him, though he was a Medici cousin.  But Giuliana and Giovanni…they were so beautiful.”

“She was beautiful?”

He paused, and she rolled onto her back so she could see his expression.  His eyes were narrowed in concentration while he thought.  “It’s difficult to say.  My human memories are not always clear.  I
remember
her as beautiful, but that could be a child’s perspective.  I remember the way my uncle smiled at her.  She was very kind to me; she liked to play games.  I don’t think she could have any children of her own.  She never did in all the time they wrote to each other.”

“What happened?”

“She was married, and my uncle was thrown in prison when their affair was discovered.  Though Lorenzo de Medici found my uncle entertaining, so he intervened.”

“But they stayed in contact?”

He nodded and let his hand stroke along her arm.  Everywhere he touched gave her goose bumps, but not from the chill.  His energy, which he normally kept on a tight lease, seemed to hum along his skin as he reminisced.  She could see him taking longer and longer blinks, and could only assume the sun was rising in the sky.

“They wrote beautiful letters to each other,” he said quietly.  “He locked them away; I never discovered where he put them.”

“But why did that matter to Andros?  They couldn’t marry anyway, why—”

“My uncle fell into a depression toward the end of his life.  After his imprisonment in Paris, he lost his spirit.  He stopped writing Giuliana.  He no longer had the same joy he’d always carried before.  He destroyed his poetry.  He burned many of his more progressive philosophical works and corresponded more with Savaranola, who had become so radical by then it taxed even Poliziano and Benevieni’s friendship.”

“When were the bonfires?”

“The ‘bonfire of the vanities?’” he murmured, and she was reminded of the book she had been reading so many months ago when they had first met.  His amusement at hearing the title finally made sense and she smirked.

“Yeah, those bonfires.”

“It was after I had been taken, but before I was turned.  My uncle left me everything; though he wasn’t exorbitantly wealthy, his library was substantial and Andros wanted it, so he took it.  When Lorenzo told me years later that everything had burned in the fires, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine.  Many of his books would have been considered heretical, and so many things were lost.”

“What did your uncle write about?”

Giovanni smiled wistfully and placed a small kiss on her forehead.  “He thought that all human religion and philosophy could be reconciled.  That the quest for knowledge was the highest good; and that somewhere, between all the wars and debate, there was some universal truth he could discover which would bring humanity together.”

Beatrice paused and watched his green eyes swirl with memories.  “He sounds like a wonderful man.”

“He was…an idealist.”

She reached up to place a small kiss on his cheek, which had grown a dusting of stubble since she had kissed him so many weeks ago at the Night Hawk.

“The world needs idealists.”

His hand trailed up from her arm and cupped her cheek.  His eyes searched her own before he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her mouth.  It was soft and searching, and she felt his arm pull her closer.  She also felt his eyelashes fluttering on her cheek, and knew he was struggling to remain awake.

“Sleep, Gio.”

“Will you be here when I wake?” he mumbled, almost incoherent from the pull of day.  “There’s more…”

“Yes,” she whispered.  “I’ll be here.”

Though his arm lay heavy across her waist, and his head slumped to the side, Beatrice felt safe for the first time in weeks, so she closed her eyes and joined him in a dreamless slumber.

When she woke, he was still sleeping, so she pulled away from the tangle of his arms and went to the front of the house.  She boiled some water and made black tea to drink on the front porch.  When she went outside, there was fresh milk sitting on the porch, and a block of ice for the icebox.

She was surprised by how peaceful she found the simplicity of life in the valley.  The house had no electricity, but she didn’t miss it as much as she imagined.  The fire in the main hearth was constantly burning, and it heated a small water heater by some mechanism she still didn’t understand, but appreciated anyway.

Other than the dreams that had plagued her every night, Beatrice had never felt more peaceful, and she understood why Giovanni had wanted her to come to this quiet place.  Her soul, as well as her mind, had been refreshed.

She could hear the rustle of someone approaching through the trees, and sat up straighter in instinctive alarm.  She relaxed when she saw the oldest son of the Reverte family, who kept the lodge at the base of the valley.  Arturo had escorted her over some of the gentler riding trails as she explored the valley.  He was riding his favorite horse and leading another one for her.

“
Ciao, Beatriz!
”
he called with a smile.

“
Buenos días, Arturo
.”

“¿Quieres cabalgar?”

“No, grácias,”
she said, declining his offer to ride.

“¿No?  Estás segura?”
he asked with a wink.

She thought about getting some fresh air but was unsure of what time Giovanni would wake, so she nodded that, yes, she was sure, and waved him off with a smile.  She realized she wanted to be there to hear the rest of Giovanni’s story and didn’t want to lose time when he woke.

To say she had been stunned to learn he was the orphan the count had adopted, instead of Giovanni Pico himself, was an understatement; though when she thought about her research into the life of the fifteenth century philosopher, the ages had never seemed exactly right.  She still had many questions, but she was beginning to understand how valuable the correspondence of his uncle and friends would be to the boy who had loved them.

She ate a small meal and perused the bookcases in the living room.  When Giovanni had mentioned his books the first night they’d come to the house, Beatrice had frozen, thrown back to the night he had callously traded her for the books he had sought for so long.

At least that’s what she had thought at the time.

Her mind understood what he had been saying since he had rescued her, but a small part of her heart found it difficult to let down her guard around the magnetic man she knew she still loved, though she had trouble admitting it—even to herself.

Beatrice found a harmless paperback and crawled back in bed with the sleeping vampire, who had not moved from the position she left him in.

“Sheesh,” she grunted as she shoved his arms over to clear a spot.  “You’re heavier than you look, Gio.”

He just lay there, silent and unbreathing.

“It’s probably really evil that I want to draw something on your face right now, isn’t it?”

She examined his unmoving form.  “I could draw a big, curly mustache, right on your upper lip, and you wouldn’t be able to stop me, would you?” She lay down and traced her finger over his upper lip.

“Yep, that would piss you off for sure,” she muttered.  “You’re so damn proud, Giovanni.”

Ironically, his face looked childlike in repose, and she found herself wishing the soft curls still covered his forehead so she could brush them away.

“Or should I call you Jacopo?” she murmured.

She liked the feeling of his childhood name in her mouth, so she continued in a soft voice.

“Does anyone else know your name, Jacopo?  Does Lorenzo even know?” she said.  “I wonder…”

She began to feel tears prick the corner of her eyes, and she lay her head on his chest to stare at him.  She heard one soft thud as his heart gave a beat before falling silent again.

“I thought I was in love with him, Jacopo.  I think I still am.”  She blinked away tears.  “But I don’t trust him anymore, even though I want to.”

Suddenly, his expression creased into a slight frown, and he no longer looked like a boy, but the hard man who had killed to get her back.

“Oh,” she whispered, “there you are, Giovanni.”

She sighed and decided she didn’t really want to read, so she curled into his side and fell into another dreamless sleep.