“And if she was?”
Tenzin raised an eyebrow in speculation. “Ask her.”
“Fine. Be cryptic.” He rolled up to his knees. “You want to finish this and I’ll play host?”
Tenzin’s eyes danced. “That girl knows the city better than either of us, I’d wager. Don’t let her fool you. She’s smart and she’s not nearly as innocent as she comes across.”
“Probably not.” He shrugged. “But she’s fun. We won’t stay out too late.”
“Nothing stays open late enough to worry about,” she said. “This isn’t Naples.”
“Very true.”
The thing that delighted Tenzin most about Venice was the very thing that annoyed Ben. It was too quiet at night. There was little to no nightlife unless you took a boat out to the Lido or trolled the tourist areas along the Grand Canal. Still, he’d found a good gelato place just around the corner on the Calle de la Mandola, and there was a bar not too far from it in Campo Sant’Angelo that served a nice selection of cocktails where they could sit if they wanted.
Ruby was waiting for him when he came down the stairs. “So, permission granted?”
Ben shook his head and cocked an arm out for her to take. “Come on, you brat. Let’s find someplace you can let your hair down.”
❂
THEY were sitting in the Campo Sant’Angelo and most of the square was empty. Ben and Ruby had the place to themselves, aside from a small group of what looked like retirees who were chatting in German on the other side of the restaurant. The moon had risen and the night was warm. The wine wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either.
The company, however, was stellar.
“So tell me about vampires in Venice,” Ben said. “How long have you lived here?”
Ruby cocked her head. “Ten years now? Almost eleven, I suppose.” She grinned and the points of her fangs peeked from her lips. “I came on holiday and I never left.”
“Intentional?”
“Very much not.”
“But you’ve stayed.”
“Well, I’ve got Oscar, don’t I?” she said. “Can’t leave him. Not until he gets bored with me.”
Ben’s protective instincts pricked. “Do you want to leave?”
Ruby winked at him. “You’re adorable, you know that? It’s not what you’re thinking. But when I first came, it wasn’t under ideal circumstances. In fact, Oscar’s the one who brought me up in front of the council here.”
“So there’s a council? Not just one VIC?”
“VIC?”
Ben shrugged. “My shorthand for vampire in charge.”
“Ha!” Ruby laughed. “That’s brilliant. Yeah, there’s a council. It’s not big. For an old city, there’s not as many of our kind as you’d think.”
Ben thought for a moment. “No nightlife.”
She pointed a finger at him. “Right in one. That’s it. There’s a larger population on terraferma, but in the old city? Not many anymore. And the ones here are more like Oscar. Old, ornery, and like keeping to themselves.”
“And he’s the one who took you to them?”
“Long story, but yeah. And I’m grateful he did. What did I know about any of this, eh?” She looked around. “I would’ve turned these canals bloody if I’d had my way. Oscar reined me in. Looked after me.”
“And you work for him.”
She grinned. “Among other things. No worries, Benny. He’s not a bad sort. I’m happy enough.”
“So you’re settled here?”
Ruby snorted. “God, no. I’d love to get out. Travel the world. That’s what I was doing before I turned, you know? I’m an artist. I can’t stay in one place forever, can I?” She sipped her wine. “But I’ve got time. Gobs and gobs of it now. So we’ll see. I’m here now.”
“Well”—he took his card out of his pocket—“if you ever make your way to America—and I’m still alive—give me a call, huh?”
Ruby took the card and put it in a pocket. “I’ll do that. So you and Tenzin?”
He shrugged. “It’s complicated.”
“Friends?”
“Yes,” he said. “Always.”
“She’s a bit of a legend, isn’t she? Got the creeps the first time I met her. Stories Oscar told made my hair stand on end.” She fingered her tight curls. “Even more than it is now. And that’s saying something.”
Ben smiled. “Yeah, I’ve heard a few of them too.”
A chime sounded in Ben’s pocket, and he pulled out his phone.
“The docks near San Samuele,” he said. “Sounds like Claudio’s picking both of us up there at midnight.”
“Both of us?”
“That’s what he says.” He tucked his phone away. “Maybe Tenzin went out to your place.”
“Could be.” She lifted her wineglass. “We should probably get going. I know the way.”
Ten minutes later, they walked through the twisted streets of San Marco again, their footsteps echoing in the deserted city. If it hadn’t been so empty, Ben would never have spotted their shadows as they crossed the Campo Santo Stefano.
“We’ve got company,” he said under his breath, knowing Ruby would hear. “Just passing the library now.”