Secretly, Ben thought it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

“How long will it be before she’s really good with them?”

“Watch her now,” Tenzin murmured. “Watch, boy.”

It irritated Ben that Tenzin always called him “boy,” but he supposed he couldn’t really say anything about it. Even if she only looked a few years older than him, he knew she was the oldest vampire he would probably ever meet. The funny thing about Tenzin was she still acted like a little kid at times. Beatrice said it was because she was so old and didn’t get out in the modern world all that much, but Tenzin was still amazed by weird stuff like TV and cars. She hated cars, but she liked the television. She really loved going to the movies, and she and Ben had fallen into the habit of going to see one at least once a week. She liked 3D pictures the best.

Tenzin reached over and whacked his arm. “Boy, are you watching?”

“My name is Ben,” he grumbled, but turned his attention back to Beatrice and Baojia. He could see what Tenzin meant. Beatrice was no longer simply reacting to Baojia’s attacks, she was now actively attacking him, spotting tiny opportunities to throw the other vampire off balance, or make his grip on the shuang gou waver.

“Oh, wow,” he whispered as they picked up speed. Soon, both vampires were whirling in an almost sickening blur, whipping around each other, jumping and leaping, while the blades caught the glint from the overhead lights. Finally, Ben had to look away. He was starting to get motion sick from the speed of their movements.

“Ah... ah...” From the corner of his eye, he saw Tenzin lean forward and laugh. Ben chanced a look up, only to see Beatrice standing in front of Baojia. She had taken one of the shuang gou from him and held it, along with her saber, at the other vampire’s neck as he was pressed against the wall.

“And she’s got him,” Tenzin said. She turned to Ben with a grin. “Did you see? She’s very good. No one will stab her again.”

As soon as she said it, he saw the flicker of sadness in her grey eyes. Tenzin quickly looked away as Ben watched the expression drain from her face.

“Nope,” he said, teasing. “That’s my fake aunt, toughest vampire around.”

Tenzin turned back to him with a smirk. “Now, you’re just asking me to beat you up again.”

“What?” he scoffed. “You’re a little girl. What kind of—okay, ow!” Tenzin pounced on Ben and twisted his arm behind his back. “Ow, ow... Tenzin, I was joking.”

“‘Little girl?’ You are an infant.”

“I’m not going to be able to practice if you take my arm off. Ow!” His eyes rolled back until he heard a swift, whooshing sound. Suddenly, her grip loosened.

“Please don’t damage the boy, bird-girl. He whines when he’s in too much pain.”

Ben rolled on his side to see his uncle’s leather dress shoes by his face.

“Hey, Gio.” He looked up at Giovanni’s amused face.

“What did you say to piss her off?”

“I called her a little girl.”

His eyebrow cocked, and Giovanni glanced at Tenzin, who had flown over to speak to Baojia and Beatrice as they were putting the weapons away.

“You’re a brave fool, Benjamin.”

Ben snickered and took the hand his uncle held out. “You should have seen B. She was awesome. She totally beat Baojia with the hook swords.”

“Excellent.” Giovanni smiled. “I am almost sorry I missed it.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m glad I still have all my hair, so thanks for keeping away.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

Ben’s eyes darted away. “Oh... you know, just gonna head home and maybe hang out for a while. I got a history test on Monday. Stupid French Revolution stuff. Nothing major, but...”

“Ben, I can hear your heartbeat; I know you’re lying.”

He huffed. “I’m just... sheesh, man. I don’t ask you what you’re doing every hour of the day.”

“Are you meeting a girl?”

“What?” Ben’s face reddened. “No, I’m not.” This time.

Luckily, Giovanni must have decided that Ben was lying about his true intentions because he just grunted and leaned toward the boy. “Be careful. Be respectful. That’s all I require. And be in your bed by morning.”

“I’m not—never mind.” Let him think he was going out to meet Heather or Brianna. Ben walked over and picked up a towel, wiping the sweat from his forehead before he walked to the small locker room to wash up. “Whatever. I’ll see you guys later.”

Ben showered, grabbed his helmet, and walked out to his scooter. At fifteen, he was still breaking the law by riding it, but Giovanni and Beatrice both turned a blind eye since their schedules and his were so screwy, and Caspar was getting older. Besides, Ben just felt weird making Caspar drive him around when he was perfectly capable of doing it himself. With his height and his deep voice, Ben had never attracted attention riding the stripped-down Honda Ruckus, and he always kept it on surface streets. He couldn’t wait till he was sixteen, and he could finally get Beatrice’s old motorcycle.

Ben made a show of riding off, only to double back and wait in an alley, watching for his aunt and uncle to exit the building. He saw Baojia and Tenzin leave. Baojia walked toward a parked car with a driver in front, and Tenzin ducked toward the back of the building before he saw her small form take to the sky in a blur.