quick cash.”
“Some of my collection.”
He offered Giovanni an embarrassed frown. “I’m sorry. I’m sure some of them were yours, but I had nothing.”
“I’ll get them back. Continue.”
“The key to the elixir is the blood. No one knows why we have an affinity toward the elements, but all vampires do. And it’s our blood that seems to hold the key. Geber was smart and probably knew that his contemporaries would doubt his use of blood that wasn’t even supposed to exist—except in myth—so he never names the ingredients in the formula, but from reading his journals, I was finally able to figure it out.”
“But why would that even—”
Stephen turned to Beatrice. “You have bruises all over, why can’t Giovanni heal them?”
She frowned. Surely her father knew that much. “Because I’m human. Gio says my digestive system would break down his blood before it could have any positive effect. That’s why it only works on open cuts or scrapes.”
“Exactly, your human system doesn’t know what to do with it. Whatever magic animates our blood—”
“It’s not magic,” Giovanni spit out. “We just haven’t figured out what it is yet.”
“Damn it!” Tenzin said. “You’re so damn arrogant, Gio. Do you think your science can explain everything? There are things in this world—”
“That haven’t been explained yet. And once upon a time, humans didn’t know what the stars were, either. But that time has passed. The mysteries of the natural world—”
“Are not going to be revealed at this table,” Beatrice interrupted. “But the super-secret mystery of the elixir of life might be if you all quit arguing and let my dad talk.”
Stephen chuckled, but Giovanni and Tenzin looked annoyed to have been interrupted. Still, they fell silent and Giovanni gestured to Stephen. “Continue.”
Her father turned to Tenzin. “If you were injured, would you go to another wind vampire for blood?”
“You know I wouldn’t.” She seemed content to play along with the rhetorical question. “I would go to a vampire of another element that I trusted if I needed strength. The blood of your own element—”
“Does very little to heal, unless it is your own sire,” Giovanni said, a sudden light of interest coming to his eyes. “It is the combination of elements that seems to heal. Tell me about the four types of blood.”
Stephen took a deep breath. “Geber must have researched extensively, and his subjects must have been very open with him. What he discovered was that, combined, the four elemental bloods would create an elixir that would heal and prolong human life. Possibly indefinitely.”
“Oh, wow,” Beatrice whispered. “So—”
“How?” Giovanni asked. “How would a human even be able to ingest it?”
Tenzin spoke softly. “That’s where his alchemy came in, my boy. It seems that somehow, Geber was able to stabilize it. That’s what the formula is for. It’s the formula to stabilize the four combined immortal bloods in a way that will allow the human body to reap the benefits in the same way that a vampire body does.”
“But…”
She could tell from looking at him that Giovanni had been rocked. She was feeling a little overwhelmed herself. He looked at her and traced a hand along her cheek, letting his thumb rest at the pulse in her neck.
“Beatrice,” he whispered. “This could be…”
“Gio, we don’t know enough about this.”
Tenzin spoke up again. “No, we most definitely do not . And I’m highly suspicious of the next part of the findings.”
“What findings?” Beatrice asked.
“Geber tested it for almost a year,” Stephen said, “and the results seemed very promising. He gave it to a human that was diseased—he only described it as a ‘wasting disease’—but the recovery was almost instant. The human was observed for another few months before Geber sent him home, apparently totally healed. Another subject was very elderly. While the
“Some of my collection.”
He offered Giovanni an embarrassed frown. “I’m sorry. I’m sure some of them were yours, but I had nothing.”
“I’ll get them back. Continue.”
“The key to the elixir is the blood. No one knows why we have an affinity toward the elements, but all vampires do. And it’s our blood that seems to hold the key. Geber was smart and probably knew that his contemporaries would doubt his use of blood that wasn’t even supposed to exist—except in myth—so he never names the ingredients in the formula, but from reading his journals, I was finally able to figure it out.”
“But why would that even—”
Stephen turned to Beatrice. “You have bruises all over, why can’t Giovanni heal them?”
She frowned. Surely her father knew that much. “Because I’m human. Gio says my digestive system would break down his blood before it could have any positive effect. That’s why it only works on open cuts or scrapes.”
“Exactly, your human system doesn’t know what to do with it. Whatever magic animates our blood—”
“It’s not magic,” Giovanni spit out. “We just haven’t figured out what it is yet.”
“Damn it!” Tenzin said. “You’re so damn arrogant, Gio. Do you think your science can explain everything? There are things in this world—”
“That haven’t been explained yet. And once upon a time, humans didn’t know what the stars were, either. But that time has passed. The mysteries of the natural world—”
“Are not going to be revealed at this table,” Beatrice interrupted. “But the super-secret mystery of the elixir of life might be if you all quit arguing and let my dad talk.”
Stephen chuckled, but Giovanni and Tenzin looked annoyed to have been interrupted. Still, they fell silent and Giovanni gestured to Stephen. “Continue.”
Her father turned to Tenzin. “If you were injured, would you go to another wind vampire for blood?”
“You know I wouldn’t.” She seemed content to play along with the rhetorical question. “I would go to a vampire of another element that I trusted if I needed strength. The blood of your own element—”
“Does very little to heal, unless it is your own sire,” Giovanni said, a sudden light of interest coming to his eyes. “It is the combination of elements that seems to heal. Tell me about the four types of blood.”
Stephen took a deep breath. “Geber must have researched extensively, and his subjects must have been very open with him. What he discovered was that, combined, the four elemental bloods would create an elixir that would heal and prolong human life. Possibly indefinitely.”
“Oh, wow,” Beatrice whispered. “So—”
“How?” Giovanni asked. “How would a human even be able to ingest it?”
Tenzin spoke softly. “That’s where his alchemy came in, my boy. It seems that somehow, Geber was able to stabilize it. That’s what the formula is for. It’s the formula to stabilize the four combined immortal bloods in a way that will allow the human body to reap the benefits in the same way that a vampire body does.”
“But…”
She could tell from looking at him that Giovanni had been rocked. She was feeling a little overwhelmed herself. He looked at her and traced a hand along her cheek, letting his thumb rest at the pulse in her neck.
“Beatrice,” he whispered. “This could be…”
“Gio, we don’t know enough about this.”
Tenzin spoke up again. “No, we most definitely do not . And I’m highly suspicious of the next part of the findings.”
“What findings?” Beatrice asked.
“Geber tested it for almost a year,” Stephen said, “and the results seemed very promising. He gave it to a human that was diseased—he only described it as a ‘wasting disease’—but the recovery was almost instant. The human was observed for another few months before Geber sent him home, apparently totally healed. Another subject was very elderly. While the
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