Chapter Fourteen

I wasn't sure I could save this one. Madame Barbier had begun to wake by the second application of my sol volatile, and the young boy had come around almost as fast. This man—David Anderson, according to Mr. Witherspoon—did not react in the slightest. In fact, he'd had another of those apneic episodes, where I'd come close to giving him mouth-to-mouth breaths.

To make matters worse, shortly after Will arrived with my bag, we'd heard a distant bang and the steady rumble of the engine had ceased. I'd sent him out to learn what he could about our situation.

He returned with grim news. "They're fighting with the sails, trying to keep us somewhat on course. It's chaos out there."

Mr. Witherspoon stood quivering at my shoulder, for all the world like he'd been made of gelatin. "Give him the smelling salts again. Please. You must."

I'd already explained several times that the more often I used the sol volatile, the less effective it would be, so I saved myself the breath and did as he asked. David gave no indication I'd just put a vial of ammonia under his nose. Witherspoon moaned.

We were interrupted by a firm knock on the door. I glanced at Will, and he answered it.

"Oh good. You are here." It was one of the stewards; his crisp uniform was soggy, he'd lost his cap, and his hair was disheveled. "We need the doctor in room fifteen immediately."

"You can't have him," Witherspoon burst out. "We need him here. David needs him here."

I nodded at Will. "Do you know mouth-to-mouth breathing?"

His eyes grew round. "No. I mean, I've read about it but…"

"Come here." I brought him to the bed. "Tip his chin up and open his mouth. Cover his lips with yours and blow."

"I…suppose I could do that."

"Time him. If he ceases to breathe for more than twenty seconds, give him a few breaths."

Will nodded wordlessly.

"If he vomits, turn his head to the side."

Another wordless nod. If his eyes opened any wider, his brows would hit his hairline. I then turned to Witherspoon, using my best professional manner. "I'll return as soon as possible. In the meantime, you and Will must care for David. He'll wake up."

"He will?" There were tears in Witherspoon's eyes.

Rather than lie, I gave him a firm nod. "Show me where," I said to the steward and, carrying my bag, I went to see my next patient.

Will had not exaggerated. Rather than the pristine, peaceful deck where well-heeled passengers took in the sun and the air, we went out into a riot of waves and pounding rain. Crewmembers ran past, at times joined by passengers in their dinner clothes. Before I took in more than that, the steward hurried me to the next victim.

What had Aharon said? Fr. Dominic was casting spells that brought about these episodes? If so, we needed to stop him before he killed someone.

My next patient was a young girl, barely into her teen years. She responded slightly better to the sol volatile, and her mother had a vial of her own. "Give her some every ten minutes or so, and when she wakes, give her some weak tea or broth."

Her mother, a graceful woman with graying hair, gave me every assurance that she'd do as I asked, and I promised I'd return as soon as I could. I'd intended to return to David and Mr. Witherspoon; however, the steward met me at the door with another request.

"Room eighteen," he said, his expression grim.

He led the way, and I followed.

I was leaving my fourth patient when Aharon found me. He managed to avoid the steward, catching me when I'd stopped for a moment and closed my eyes in a spot with some cover from the rain. My vial of sol volatile was sadly overused but fortunately would not dry out quickly. Except for David, I felt sure the other patients would recover.

I hoped.

"You've been run ragged."

His voice startled me, but after the initial gasp, I relaxed at his side. "Four of them. Four patients, all somnolent. I need to get back to the first one I saw, as he appears to be the worst."

Aharon stroked my hand. "I might have to call you away."

I rubbed my burning eyes. "Why?"

"I'm going to draw Fr. Dominic out of his room, and when I do, you go in and swipe the case."

How had it come to this? I had no love for vampires, yet one stood at my side, his presence reassuring.

I had less love for theft, and yet… "Me?" My teeth were clenched so tight I could barely get the word out.

"Yes."

His confidence shamed me for my doubt. "All right. I'll do my best."

He interlaced our fingers. "I'm going to get rid of the source of his power, and you're going to steal the treasures. We have no other choice."

Wind tossed rain all around us, though the boat had stopped pitching so wildly. "I'll be in room forty-four," I murmured, though I did not move. His fingers were cool, his presence steadying. "Let me know when you need me to act."

D

By dawn, the storm had ended. I met Hugh and Carrington in Hugh's rooms. Carrington didn't protest when Hugh invited me to spend the day under his bed, although they were both so exhausted he might not have noticed.

Someone knocked on the door before any of us could rest. Carrington opened it only as far as he could see out. There were several injured crew members who needed the doctor's attention, so despite having been awake for a day and a night, Hugh hoisted his bag. "I'll go to them," he murmured. "You stay here, and I'll return as soon as I can."

Carrington asked where to find the injured, while I protested. "It's not fair. You need rest too."

Hugh smiled. "Could you stay awake past sunrise if you wanted to?"

"I've never tried. Maybe it's possible." Although my claim felt empty. In my short life as a vampire, I'd had little control over when my eyes closed for the day. In fact, the coming sunrise weighed on me, prodding me to get under cover, to hide.

Hugh gave me an affectionate smile. "You can no more fight your nature than I could fly. Get out of sight and we'll talk again after sunset."

I had the foolish urge to give him a goodnight kiss, an impulse I didn't act on. This connection between us was as surprising as it was inexplicable. More than anything else, I hoped we could see it through.

I'd barely managed to get under the bunk when sunrise shut me down. When my mind returned from whatever black hole had consumed it, I heard quarreling.

Again.

Did people only come to Hugh's door to argue with him?

I blinked to clear some of the fog from my eyes and recognized Br. James, demanding to know where I was. That presented me with a dilemma. If I came out of the room now, he'd know my hiding place. Hugh was doing his best to hold the man off, telling him they'd send me to him as soon as I rose.

"Here," Br. James said finally. "I can't wait any longer or Fr. Dominic will kill me." His voice rang with truth and fear. "Give this to the vampire or throw it overboard. I don't care."

The door slammed, and for a moment, there was silence. I crawled out from under the bunk, surprised to find myself tangled in a blanket that hadn't been there when I lay down.

Hugh was alone. Hands on his hips, shoulders slumped, he stared at Fr. Dominic's box where it sat on the floor. I must have made some sound, because he turned to me.

"How much did you hear?" His cheeks were gaunt, and his eyes were ringed in dark circles.

"Don't touch that." I gestured toward the box.

He laughed, rubbing the scruff of a beard on his cheek. "Wasn't going to. This is part of your plan?"

"Yes, but… Have you had any sleep?"

"Some," he lied.

I decided not to press him on it. "This is our chance, then. I'll take this to the upper deck and make sure Fr. Dominic sees me with it. While I have him distracted, you grab the case that's under his bed, the one you found when you went to his rooms before."

Before . A month could have passed, though it was only a handful of days.

"What then?"

"I'm fairly sure that box contains something that enables Fr. Dominic to contact his demon, although, with as many people he attacked last night, the demon might truly be inhabiting him." I shrugged, doing my best not to imagine what a demon-priest could do to me if it caught me. "Bring the case here and I'll retrieve it when I can."

"Will says the storm didn't blow us far off course, so we should still reach Gibraltar tomorrow."

This was the part that would need some luck. I wouldn't be able to leave the ship until nightfall, and by then we might already be heading out to sea. "I wonder if I could take one of the lifeboats." The ship had four of them on deck. "Toward morning, I can wrap myself in canvas, then you and Will can lower me to the water. The canvas will protect me from the sun, and as soon as the sun sets, I'll paddle to the shore."

Hugh nodded, though the tightness in his eyes hinted at doubt. "That's leaving a lot to chance."

"This was always going to be a risky proposal."

Without giving him time to debate the issue further, I stepped around him and snatched the box of dirt. The thing weighed more than it should have, and I must have grimaced, because he asked, "Do you know what's in there?"

"Br. James said it was cemetery dirt, but it's as heavy as a block of lead." I stilled for a moment, reaching for his hand. "You'll need to follow me, so that you'll know when Fr. Dominic leaves his rooms."

"Of course. Wait a moment, please." He gave my hand a squeeze and went to his trunk. With his back to me, I couldn't see what he was after, but when he turned, he was buckling a holster to his hip. "Lockpicks are in my pocket," he said.

I gave him a salty grin. "There are sides of your character I haven't yet seen, Hugh St John. Let's finish this so we can get to know one another better."

"I confess, at first you terrified me. Your nature and your blatant flirtation, I mean. Now, though, I have to agree. I want to know you better. Let's finish this."

We stood grinning at each other, and I swear the box felt lighter. "Come on, habibi. My mother would say something about how suffering in search of truth gives meaning to the truth."

"So let's get the suffering part over with?"

"Yes."

I had to turn away so I wouldn't grab him and drag him to the bed. The weight of the box, however, brought home the harshness of our situation. There was no one in the hallway, yet I still pulled shadows around me. Hugh knew where I was headed, and I knew he'd follow.

How did I know?

The same way I knew he was the one I'd been waiting for. That made me laugh, because if someone had asked me before all of this if I was waiting for someone, I would have said no. And yet, I felt certain we were destined to be together.

I also felt the beginning of hunger. Feeding from Hugh had made me feel invincible, but since then I'd been running here and there, wrapped in shadows as often as not. I'd need to feed again, though not likely from Hugh.

First, though, I needed to draw the attention of Fr. Dominic.

I reached the upper deck, Hugh's footsteps behind me. There was a commotion down the hall to the right.

"He's dead," someone cried. A lady screamed, and other men shouted. I headed toward them, hanging back so no one would run into me. Hugh went past, though I would have preferred him to stay hidden.

"I'm the ship's doctor. What's going on?"

"The vampire must have struck again." This was from one of the stewards, who looked as exhausted as Hugh had. "He's so awfully pale, and look. There's a wound on his throat."

Hugh disappeared into the crowd. "All of you, return to your rooms, please. There's nothing you can do here."

Some of the people left until the crowd was thin enough that I could see Hugh down on his knees. The figure lying next to him wore a black cassock.

Br. James. Had to be. Fr. Dominic must have worked quickly.

"This is one of the monks," Hugh said, and the steward agreed with him. "Let's get him to his rooms. Has someone notified his companions?"

"I believe he's an associate of Fr. Dominic's, in room thirty-six."

"Let's bring him there, then." Hugh scooted over so he could grasp Br. James by his shoulders. "You take his feet." He nodded to the steward. "And the rest of you, please go elsewhere. This is not an entertainment."

Some combination of words and tone of voice chased off the spectators. Staying clear of them, I watched Hugh and the steward carry the brother to Fr. Dominic's rooms.

The priest answered the door himself.

"I'm sorry to do this"—Hugh's voice had an edge of strain—"but your man was found in the hallway."

Fr. Dominic didn't budge from the doorway. "What happened to him?"

"He's dead. Can we bring him in?"

Hugh's blunt words shook something in the priest—or at least the priest acted dismayed—and he stood aside.

"Oh," Fr. Dominic gasped as they passed him. "Look at his throat. The vampire has struck again." He looked past the steward as he spoke, raising his voice so anyone around would have heard him.

Fortunately, the only person nearby was me. I let the shadows fall away and grinned at him, showing my fangs and raising the box of dirt.

"He's here," the priest screamed. "With me! All you men! The vampire is here."

Moving fast, I went toward the railing, making sure to keep the box where he could see it. Once there, I slowed my pace to a stroll.

The priest continued to yell, though he only drew the attention of another steward. "See?" Fr. Dominic pointed at the railing. "He's right there."

I covered myself in shadow. Except for the box. Come on, Dominic. Don't you want this?

The steward looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir, but no one is out there. Perhaps you should go inside and rest." He took the priest's arm, only to have Fr. Dominic rudely shake free of his grasp.

"If you won't do anything about him, I will." He reached in a pocket of his robes and pulled out a stake.

I didn't move—yet—and instead teased him with the box. I needed him to come far enough away from his room that Hugh could steal the case of treasures. A new idea took shape. It would also be useful if the priest thought I was gone.

Like a matador waving a red flag at a bull, I dangled the box from my fingertips. Fr. Dominic took several steps toward me. Not good enough. The steward who'd helped Hugh carry in the body came out of the room, likely sent on some errand or other so he wouldn't see what Hugh was up to.

Fr. Dominic came closer, the flickering lamplight doing grotesque things to his face.

Or maybe the demon was making him look grotesque.

The box grew heavier, a living thing that sensed its owner was near. Fr. Dominic scuttled down the deck. I hoisted myself onto the railing, the only thing separating me from the water below.

Fr. Dominic raised the stake. "Give it to me."

I just grinned, showing him fang.

"I demand that you give me the box." He cocked his hand, ready to throw.

"No," I said. He threw the stake and I, well, I let myself fall.