We showered for a long time, just for the sheer joy of it. I washed both Kamila’s and Tess’s hair again, and they washed mine, our soap-slicked bodies sliding over each other in an erotic tumble. Sex was erotic, but showering together was a level of intimacy I’d never known. It was natural, even when it was new.
We all got ready for bed, our routines varying but all with the same goal in mind. I slipped under the downy comforter, with Kamila on my right side and Tess on my left. Daisy slept on our feet, as always, as though we were in danger of frostbite without her warm presence. Before she fell asleep, Kamila leaned in and whispered into my ear, “Just so you know, I promise I’m not really jealous about you and Tess.”
“You’re not?” I relaxed at her reassurance. The last thing we needed was for the three of us to have any tension between us.
“No, I’m not. Like I said before, I can hardly blame her for doing what I wanted to do myself. I’m giving you fair warning, though. I’m going to want some attention of my own. Not right now. But just you be ready. Ferin are not monogamous. Neither are we patient.”
I grinned and held both of my women close. They snuggled up and smiled, and I closed my eyes.
Today had been a good day. A day of restoration more than work. We hadn’t had a lot of those since I was turned. I didn’t know if that was normal for Ferin or if the whole Lifebringer thing brought some extra baggage with it, but I resolved not to let it sweep away the sensation of joy and relaxation that suffused my body. Soon enough, we’d have to disembark and get back to the daily grind, but right there and now, we were happy, and it was enough.
9
We woke up and began exploring the ship in search of fun, an act that I found easier to do with both women by my side. We were something else now—more than a simple team—and it made the idea of leisure into something to be cherished rather than avoided. The ship had a whole host of options available to us, from a surfing machine to an actual circus school, to a casino, to bumper cars. If one of us wanted to do something, we could do it. If we wanted to spend all day in the bar sleazing at someone, we had the option to do that too, though I felt compelled to buy polyester shirts with flowers if I was going to chase aging widows in the ship’s bars.
Before all else, we grabbed breakfast. Breakfast tended to be a much more casual affair than dinner, although it seemed to be the meal most likely to put someone into a coma. I had to be grateful for my Ferin metabolism. There was no way I’d be able to run, or fight, or do anything useful after eating French toast, pastries, eggs, and bacon. The coffee, too, was perfection, and I said a silent prayer that being a Ferin hadn’t ended my love affair with caffeine. Some relationships really are meant to go forever.
Kamila cleared her throat and wrapped her hands around her mug of coffee. “So we’ve got today at sea and part of tomorrow. The ship’s first port of call is in Hamilton, Bermuda, and that’s where we’ll break away from the rest of the group and continue toward Belize.”
In one of my weaker moments, I actually pouted. “No more shower?”
“No more shower. Sorry.” Tess stuck her tongue out. “Enjoy it while you’ve got it, hot stuff. Our next ride isn’t nearly as sweet as this one.”
“I had no doubt in my mind.” I tried to be stoic about it, but I was seriously going to miss that shower, as well as the company in it.
We split up for a while because neither of them wanted to go to trapeze school, and I had about as much interest in the casino as I did in spending more time with Chilperic. We agreed to meet up again at lunchtime.
I’d picked trapeze school for a reason, and it wasn’t because I had ideas about running off to join the circus after the war was over. The vampires were stronger than we were. There were more of them. They were faster, and they were even more powerful. If I could get some small advantage, anything at all, that might help me against those bastards, I was going to take it.
Not many other people on the cruise seemed to have much interest in the trapeze school, so I got most of the teachers’ time and attention. I didn’t explain why I seemed to have a natural gift for this kind of work, but I appreciated the feedback. I hoped I’d get to use it sometime soon. Even if I didn’t, I’d gotten to move around and exercise in a way that was new to me, and I was better off for it. By the time I left, I learned that heights didn’t bother me, I liked the act of flying through the air, and the circus—while interesting—was not for me, despite the presence of tigers and elephants.
Lunch rolled around, and I met up with Kamila and Tess in an upscale bistro reserved for first-class passengers. The dining room had huge windows and a view of the rolling seas. We got a table that put us right in the middle of a sun puddle, and we all basked in it like lazy cats, sipping drinks at a languid pace. I had to laugh because in my old life, I’d have looked for a seat in the corner. My pale skin used to burn in minutes, but now sunlight meant life.
“It’s interesting how so many parts of this ship have no sunlight at all.” Kamila had been quiet for a little while. “I think it might be possible to take an entire cruise without encountering direct sunlight even once.”
Tess frowned. “I don’t like the implications of that comment.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve seen the same people around every once in a while. Not all the time, but they do seem to show up here and there. I’m trying not to be paranoid because it’s a closed environment and we’ve got a lot going on here, but it’s a little disconcerting to see the same faces every time you go somewhere.”
“Same here.” Kamila flattened her mouth out into a thin line. “Two men, pale, about the same height and the same bad haircut?”
I almost jumped. “They were in the trapeze school with me today.” I swallowed. “And they were at the club last night.”
Tess rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t have pointed them out before we got distracted?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t realize they were an issue before. I’d been in exactly three places on the ship before then, and one of them was our cabin. Our incredibly sunny and beautiful cabin.” I sat up a little straighter. Was there a way to sense vampires before they attacked? If I could sense the water in a human—or a Ferin—could I sense the absence of water in a vampire? I didn’t exactly have a lot of opportunity for experimentation.
She slumped a little. “I guess you’re right. And it’s possible they’re just normal people who saw something in the club they liked and wanted to get involved. Still, we can’t get too comfortable. That’s the best way to get ourselves killed. Let’s be sure to keep an eye out for them. And their shitty haircuts.”
Kamila looked down, and for a moment, she looked profoundly sad. “I’m sorry. This was supposed to be a fun, safe way for us to get from point A to point B. Instead, we’re on a fang hunt on a ship full of innocent people.”
“Even if they’re vampires, they might not have followed us,” I said. “They could be here as a coincidence. I mean, vampires need to have fun too, right? They might be evil, hideous murder machines, but they’ve got to get out, feel the sand between their toes, and boogie or whatever.”
Kamila and Tess both giggled. I didn’t need much more, just a hint of reassurance that they were okay.
“We’ll keep our eyes peeled and stay vigilant, but we’re also not going to let the thought of what they might be ruin this experience.” I grabbed a hand from each of the women and squeezed. They both smiled back at me, Kamila with some hesitation.
We decided to head down to the pool. It was still too cold to use the outdoor pools, but the indoor pool was just fine. There were a few more people using it today, although this pool had a strict twenty-one and over policy. That meant we didn’t have to worry about little kids screaming their way across the pool, although I suspect the real reason was so they could serve daiquiris to people who were in the act of swimming. Don’t tell me civilization isn’t peaking—being able to drink while swimming was better than going to Mars, in my humble estimation.
&n
bsp; I took a casual glance at the setup and saw that there were no windows. We were cut off from the sky by steel and glass.
And, like clockwork, just as I noticed the lack of sunlight, our two friends wandered in.
I wouldn’t recommend seeing a vampire without his shirt on. Despite every paranormal romance author waxing eloquent about chiseled marble, the reality was a hell of a lot less sexy. Vampires were pale, bloodless, dead. Unless they’d only just fed, they looked like a corpse that had been drained of all blood but was somehow still walking around. Without their clothes, it was impossible to forget that they were dead.
I had no need of my enhanced senses. I knew them for what they were the moment they got rid of their bathrobes and stood there in their wretched Speedos.
“Jesus, they look like European corpses,” I muttered.
I wasn’t the only one who turned away. Most of the other pool patrons shrank away. One little old lady, hunched over and with hair so white it was blue, walked right up to them. She needed a cane to do it, but she had no fear at all. “Young man,” she said in a voice loud enough to carry to the captain’s office. “Young man, you need to get outside more. Fresh air and sunshine will clear that right up.”
She poked him with the head of her cane. I hadn’t noticed the head of her cane before, hidden as it was by her hand. Neither had the vampires, but when the one she poked recoiled and hissed, I knew it was tipped with silver.
Had the little old lady tipped her cane with silver as a method of conspicuous consumption? Or did Granny know more than she let on?
The vampire with the burn dove into the pool. His friend’s eyes smoldered with hate, but he smiled at the old lady. “We aren’t used to the sun, I’m afraid. It’s a genetic condition. We burn too easily. It’s best if we stay out of direct sunlight. To do otherwise would be catastrophic.” He sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth.
“Eh? You’ll have to speak up. I’m afraid my hearing isn’t what it used to be.” Granny sat down on the lounger with the vampire and put a hand on his leg. I hadn’t noticed her rings, but one of them must have been silver. The vampire gasped, and his eyes started watering right away.
Of course, his eyes didn’t water with tears. Vampires didn’t cry tears. They cried blood.
“Oh, poor young man. You should get your eyes checked out by the doctor. It looks like you’ve got a bit of an infection there. My son’s an ophthalmologist. He’s got some silver nitrate in that big black bag of his. I’m sure he’d be happy to help you out.”
“It’s fine.” The vampire stood up and disengaged. He grabbed his towel and swiftly wrapped it around his waist. “I’ve got antibiotics.” He raced for the exit.
The little old lady happily took over the vampire’s lounger. She didn’t give any indication as to whether or not she’d known what she was doing. Clever. Or lucky. Or both.
I looked into the pool. It would be easy to take out the other vampire. He was vulnerable and not looking for trouble, just trying to get rid of the silver poison currently plaguing him. He couldn’t do it, though. I could increase the water pressure until it popped his head clean off. I could make stolen blood boil.
Either one of those solutions would have polluted the pool for the rest of the trip, drawing attention to Captain Logan’s vessel. He deserved better than that, and so did his crew.
“We need to go,” I said, grabbing the girls. We fled the pool room without looking back. Unlike the runaway vampire, we left via an outer deck so we could take full advantage of the sunlight.
We showered and regrouped in our sunny stateroom, dressed once again for an elegant dinner after a day of purely middle-class exploits, except for the whole vampire-in-the-pool thing. “So that happened.” Kamila twisted her hair into an elegant chignon. She looked like something out of a magazine. “What do you make of the little old lady?”
I laughed. “She knew what she was doing, a hundred percent. No one uses silver nitrate for eye infections anymore.” The connection snapped into place deep inside my brain. “I remember the change on insurance forms, from my old life.”
Tess snorted. “Who knew your old life would be so useful in the new one? Seriously, though, that’s a good thing. So we’ve got a centenarian vampire hunter here on board. I wonder if I knew her?” She hummed for a second, and then she shrugged. “Not that it matters. Even if I did know her back in my old life, I’d want to keep her out of harm’s way now. So what do we do to keep the vampires at bay?”
“I hope they’ll stay in their stateroom, or storage closet, or wherever they’re hiding for the next few days.” Kamila chuckled to herself. “Now that they know someone’s grandmother is here to take them down, I have to imagine they’d be a little more careful. Then again, no one ever accused vampires of being smart. Vicious, but not smart.”
“Maybe they’ll stay indoors, but we can’t count on that. We need to be ready for them.” I checked my look in the mirror. I felt like a little kid playing dress-up in his dad’s clothes, except in this case, the clothes fit perfectly. I had another tuxedo to wear, with cufflinks and everything. The only thing that kept me from looking completely absurd was the shock of dark hair, which I’d never been able to control completely. “All right. We’ve got dinner and maybe a show tonight. What are the odds of us getting through either of them peacefully?”
Kamila passed me a small handgun. It was heavier than it looked. “Silver bullets,” she told me. “Don’t miss.”
I swallowed. I’d rather use fire. If I had to kill a vampire in the middle of a crowd of people, he’d crumble into dust anyway. There was no way I’d be able to keep it a secret. But at least I had another option. “Got it.”
10
We decided to skip the show that night. For one thing, none of us were the lounge lizard type. For another, we realized once we got into the theater that the whole area was basically a recipe for slaughter. Neither of the vampires was in the room at the moment, but all of the seats were oriented toward the stage, with their backs toward the door.
It was pretty standard for a theater. Unfortunately, it would make us sitting ducks.
We decided to go back to the nightclub instead. I wasn’t totally thrilled with this option either, but it was better than sitting in our stateroom, watching whatever we could get on the satellite. We were determined not to let the vampires ruin our last night of fun and levity before we had to go back out into the real world, our new reality of constant fighting and running.
I knew as soon as I walked into the club that I’d made a mistake. I should have argued for us to enjoy our last night of pleasure, and I might have even convinced the ladies to do exactly that. The music had seemed loud but fun last night. Tonight, it did nothing but grate on my nerves. The press of bodies made my hackles rise just as much as Daisy’s, and the smell of so many people sweating in one place just made me anxious. The only thing I could think of was the vampires. They were somewhere on this ship, waiting for the right moment to strike.
I had to be ready.
I tried to push the thought of them away, to forget about them and not obsess over it. After all, I could hardly search every part of the ship looking for them. All I could do was wait and watch. They’d hardly attack in such a public place, would they? I tried to dance with Tess and Kamila, but my heart wasn’t in it, and they soon found more willing partners. I edged my way outside, onto the deck and away from the crowd.
“Oh, look, the little Ferin is sad because his pathetic friends would rather dance with humans than with him.”
I turned around, hands up. Both vampires stood there, hungry grins framing mouths that were made for killing. A few civilians stood around, but none of them were close enough to hear us, and none seemed to be all that interested in what was going on.
They’d take an interest if I set these two parasites on fire. Or shot them.
I didn’t show any fear. “I’m surprised to see you two charming fellows out and about so soon. You know
, after you were felled by Granny the Vampire Slayer and all.” I smirked while cataloguing the exits. Was there a way for me to draw them off? I could duck back into the club, but they’d just follow me. At best, they’d go after Tess and Kamila. At worst, they’d turn it into a bloodbath.
“Cute. Where’d you find her, the nursing home? I mean, that’s where you find most of your dates, isn’t it?” This came from the other vampire, the one whose seat had been stolen by the old lady. “You know, I’m not too surprised to find you out here by yourself. What with your lackluster performance out on the balcony last night.”
I knew my performance had been anything but lackluster, so his insult didn’t have the desired effect. The thought of two vampires watching me have sex with anyone, or seeing Tess naked, made my stomach revolt. I couldn’t let them know, though. “Glad you were watching. I’d heard your kind lost their appetite for sex. You know, due to your, ah, plumbing problems.”
“I can assure you, the only thing we like more than your hot blood is tearing into your women. We’re still more man than you’ll ever be.”
“Testy. Not a good look for you boys. Are you straight? Mind you, I think that everyone should be with whoever makes them happy. Just wondering if you’re feeling pangs of jealousy after watching, well. . .” I pointed to my crotch and raised my brows in a comical leer. “Unlike yours, mine isn’t dead.” I might have changed in a few ways since my transition to Ferin, but angering a scummy, undead voyeur was still amateur-level stuff.
It worked like a charm. “You fucking breather,” the left vamp hissed. “I’m going to rip your balls off and stuff them—”
“In your mouth? Thought I made it clear. Got two hotties to do that for me, and no pointy things. Hard pass, but thanks for the offer.” I watched as the right vamp dove for me, claws out and his eyes flat with hatred.
I ducked under his grasp and bolted down the deck, racing as fast as my long legs would carry me. On the one hand, vampires were generally faster than Ferin. On the other hand, I had the body I’d had when I’d been a track star, and I wasn’t exactly trying to outrun them. I just wanted to get away with enough time to think of a plan and a place to fight them.
Forever Young - Book 2 Page 6
