He lifted the ice from his mouth. “She bit me.”
Fabia opened her mouth. Closed it. Then she shook her head and walked to the table. “I’m going to stop trying to understand your relationship.”
“That’s kind of my plan too.” He pointed to the table. “Might want to look at that. Tenzin’s pretty sure that there would have been glass ingots among the cargo Arosh sent to her sire.”
Fabia flipped open the book. “It would definitely fit with trade goods coming from the Middle East and India during that era, so let’s hope so.”
Ben walked into his bedroom and grabbed a new set of clothes from his suitcase. “Why would glass be good?”
“Very easy to find. Wood rots unless it’s covered by the right sediment. Metal degrades unless it’s gold or silver. Porcelain lasts, but it can break and fall apart. Glass ingots are very durable. Archaeologists have found glass ingots in underwater wrecks going all the way back to the Bronze Age. Seawater is pretty vicious to most materials—though these are colder waters, so that’s good—but glass lasts for centuries with very little degradation.”
“So it’d be easy to see in photographs?”
“Not photographs.” She made a frustrated sound. “I won’t know what equipment we have until we get on the ship. Have you heard anything about what we’re dealing with?”
Ben walked out of the bedroom clothed in a fresh T-shirt and a pair of jeans, rubbing a towel through his hair to dry it. “Cheng partnered with a university, so we’re probably dealing with pretty fancy stuff. This isn’t going to be a bare-bones operation. Imagine the nicest equipment you can get. What do you have?”
Fabia ticked off the options on her fingers. “Side-scanning sonar for sure, which would kind of be like an aerial photograph. You use sound to map the sea floor before you send divers down. Other than that… There are a range of devices at every price range, but most of them involve mapping with sound waves of one kind or another.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to know. But we can plan on the university crew probably doing all that, right?”
Fabia nodded. “I imagine Cheng will have them narrow the search site, but looking for glass ingots is a good idea. They’re likely to have been in the same location as the sword.”
Something was tickling the back of his mind. Glass. Degradation. Damascus steel.
“Just how gnarly is this sword going to be when we find it?” Ben asked.
Fabia frowned. “Gnarly?”
“Messed up. Rusted. It’s Damascus steel, and steel rusts.”
Fabia’s expression fell. “Yes. In fact, steel rusts much more quickly in saltwater than freshwater. I’m afraid what we’re likely going to find—if we find the sword at all—is the hilt only. The blade isn’t going to be in any recognizable condition.”
Ben shook his head. “So we’re going through all this to find a gold hilt? Maybe? What’s that going to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the Laylat al Hisab—this legendary sword—is gone. Why are we even looking for it?”
Fabia shrugged. “Even the hilt would be a symbol.”
“Of a peace that’s already there. I don’t see Arosh attacking Penglai Island anytime soon.”
“But that’s not the point. Can the gift of a sword actually end a war? Of course not. But the symbol is important.”
He muttered, “Maybe it’s a symbolic sword for a symbolic peace.”
She sent him a sideways glance as she flipped through the book. “Don’t disregard symbols, Ben. Civilization was built on symbolic gestures.”
He tossed his towel over a chair. “Symbolic peace. Symbolic gestures,” he grumbled. “If you want to look at the symbols here, maybe the shipwreck was a symbol that Arosh and Zhang were never meant to be at peace. They’re both ancient vampires, but they’re from different cultures. Different mindsets.”
Arosh was from the Mediterranean. Zhang was from China.
He was from New York. Tenzin was from… probably some Neolithic archaeological site in Outer Mongolia. He had no idea. She probably didn’t either.
And he was probably reading way more into this than he should have.
Fabia said, “I think the fact that both Arosh and Zhang have committed so much time and attention to this is proof that—whether they say it or not—they both want peace. They want the same things, even if the rest of the vampire world may seem to be against them.”
Yeah, he was definitely reading way too much into all this. “I need to get some sleep.”
Fabia closed the book. “Me too. Can I take this?”
“Tenzin hasn’t come for it, and if she does, I’ll tell her you borrowed it. Want to go to that maritime museum tomorrow?”
“Yes, definitely.” Fabia tucked the book under her arm. “And you better not sic Tenzin on me. Just because you’re not afraid of her doesn’t mean that the rest of us aren’t terrified.”
“Please. She’s a bird.” Ben opened the door. “A small, vicious, angry bird. With claws.”
Fabia paused at the door, looked up at Ben’s mouth, and held the book out to Ben. “You know, on second thought, I’ll look at it another time.”
15
Three days later, they boarded the Jīnshé just after dawn. It was a seventy-meter research vessel built in Shanghai and used primarily for climate research. It was also equipped with enough geophysical mapping equipment to make Fabia clap her hands in delight and was used jointly by several universities for large expeditions.
Ben didn’t know how much Cheng had donated to the university, but it must have been a lot. He and Fabia stood on the dock, staring at the vessel. “This is way more boat than we need, right?”
Fabia nearly ran toward the gangplank. “I’m not going to complain!”
“Of course not, you archaeology nerd.”
It was a clear day with bright blue skies and a warm wind whipping across the coast. On board were twenty academics from the university maritime archaeology research team along with a full crew of humans Cheng had brought from his own operation, Ben, Fabia, and four hidden vampires.
“And a partridge in a pear tree,” Ben muttered.
Ben walked around the ship, familiarizing himself with the layout and introducing himself to crew members. The university team was pleased to know the American spoke Chinese and could act as an interpreter for Fabia, whom they were all eager to meet. Many of them hadn’t participated in an on-site survey before, and Ben spent most of their time during the day acting as Fabia’s translator.
Their rooms on the boat were simple but sufficient. While all of the university crew had to share cabins, he and Fabia—and all the vampires, of course—had private rooms. His was the size of a college dorm room with a padded L-shaped ledge that ran along the far wall, providing a long, narrow bed while the short end of the L made a bench under the window. A desk sat on the opposite wall, and a small galley and bathroom were located on either side of the door.
There was a large galley on the main deck and a spacious dining area. Additionally, there were two conference rooms, one above and one belowdecks, closer to the diving equipment and remote-operated submersibles.
There was a game room and a library. There was even a pool, though Ben didn’t know why that was necessary on a boat that would be going through one of the most beautiful oceans in the world.
Ben retired to sleep right after the midday meal, knowing that the Jīnshé wouldn’t reach the wreck site until the next morning but wanting to be prepared for a full night’s work. He was on vampire hours now.
The sky was dark outside the window when Ben woke, and he immediately flashed back to the weeks he’d spent on the freighter years before. His bed had been too short, and he’d woken every morning with aching knees. This ship smelled better, was far more comfortable, and his knees weren’t aching.
And, of course, Tenzin was in his quarters.
He didn’t hear her. Didn’t see her. Didn’t know how she always managed to pick his locks wi
thout tripping his alarms. But he knew she was in his cabin before he even opened his eyes.
“Did you forget everything we discussed about boundaries?” His voice was rough with sleep.
“I didn’t forget the conversation. I’m just ignoring it.”
Of course you are. He cleared his throat. “What are you doing in here?”
“Aren’t you going to yell at me and kick me out?”
“No. I’m tired of fighting with you.” And I’m tired of missing you.
“Good. You shouldn’t fight with me.”
“Sometimes that’s easier said than done.” He wouldn’t open his eyes. He refused. If he kept his eyes closed, this might all be a dream.
“You called me a miserable little troll once. Do you remember that?” Her voice sounded amused.
“Do you remember trapping me on a freighter for weeks to escort your container of gold back to Long Beach?”
Tenzin had tricked him into being a courier for a treasure cache they’d transported from Xinjiang. He’d made good money off the job, gotten a lot better with Mandarin, and discovered what it meant to live off rice for six weeks.
“That typhoon in the Pacific was not my fault.”
“Are you sure?” Could Tenzin cause a typhoon? Probably.
Her sigh was long and tortured. “I’m so bored.”
He kept this eyes closed. “How is this my issue?”
“I’m usually not bored when we’re working together.”
“Not true. You’re very easily bored,” he said. “And you’re easily amused. You’re on a boat, Tenzin. Go swimming.”
“I hate the water.”
“Then go fly where no one can see you. Play dodge the seagull. Haven’t you been tormenting Cheng? Isn’t that enough for you?”
She didn’t answer him.
Good. Ben didn’t really want to hear about Cheng, even if Tenzin wasn’t sleeping with him. Not that she slept.
She asked, “Are you going back to New York?”
“What?” Ben opened his eyes and saw her sitting on the bench under the window. Her legs were folded underneath her, and she stared at him with unwavering focus.
She asked again. “Are you going back to—?”
“I heard you the first time.”
“And?”
“I don’t know.”
She nodded.
“Are you?” he asked.
“I planned to go back.”
“When? A year? A few years? A dozen maybe?”
“I hadn’t decided yet.”
“That’s kind of the problem, Tenzin.” He propped himself up on his elbows. “I don’t have a dozen years to hang around waiting for you.”
“You could.”
“No.” He sat up all the way and rubbed his eyes. “I couldn’t. Even if I was a vampire, I wouldn’t sit around waiting for you to make a decision for twelve years.”
She leaned her head against the wall and stared at the ceiling. “You’re impatient.”
“No, I’m just not a sucker.”
A fine line formed between her eyebrows. “I don’t know what that means.”
He stood and walked to the small basin where he’d set his bottle of water before he’d fallen asleep. The sky was dark outside his porthole, but the air was still warm. He bent down and washed his face before he dried it and then grabbed his water bottle.
“That means that everyone humors you and lets you do whatever you want because they’re all afraid of you, Tiny.” He gulped down two swallows of water. “I’m not afraid of you. Maybe when I met you I was too young and stupid to realize you were scary. Maybe it’s just something about who we are together. But I’m not scared of you.”
“Not everyone is scared of me,” she said. “Giovanni isn’t. Cheng isn’t.”
“Yes he is.” Ben chuckled. “Don’t kid yourself, Tenzin. Cheng is as scared of you as anyone is. You both pretend he isn’t so it doesn’t get weird.” He drank more water. “And Giovanni isn’t actively scared of you, but he still gives you a wide berth.”
She snorted. “He does not. He criticizes me all the time. Remember when he forced me to take that sociopath test?”
“Remember when you killed one of his servants?”
“That was three hundred years ago, and that man was a violent bully and a cheat. He needed to die.”
“But you didn’t explain that to Gio, did you? You just killed the guy and then let Gio stay mad at you for ages. He never took revenge for that. He never even challenged you.”
“That doesn’t mean I scare him.”
Ben leaned against the small sink. “No. But Giovanni would never let his guard down around you. As much as you both care about each other, there will always be a wall.”
“And you don’t have walls?”
“Of course I do.” Ben took a deep breath. “You just keep flying over them.”
She floated over and hovered in front of his face. She didn’t speak, she just stared at him. Ben took another drink of water, not once looking away.
“You’re not scared of me,” she muttered.
“Nope. If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it years ago.” He reached up and tapped her nose. “Miserable little troll.”
“My father isn’t scared of me.”
Ben cocked his head. “No?”
“Why would he be scared of me?” She narrowed her eyes. “He’s my sire. He’s more powerful than me.”
“Fear isn’t always about power.” Ben sat down on the edge of the bench, took off the T-shirt he’d been sleeping in, and rifled through his duffel bag to find a new one. “Why did you come in here, Tenzin?”
“Because I’m bored.” She flopped down on his bunk, lifting her feet in the air and touching her toes. “Why aren’t you insisting on uncomfortable conversations? We’ve been talking for ten minutes, and you haven’t brought up Puerto Rico once. Or what happened at my house.”
Well, he couldn’t say she wasn’t direct.
Ben pulled on a fresh T-shirt. “I haven’t brought any of that up because I’m thinking.”
“About what?”
“Don’t you know?” He looked up and stared at her until her eyes met his. “Hasn’t your supernatural vision shown you exactly what I’m thinking right now, Tiny? Haven’t you seen it all? Known it all? Doesn’t history just repeat itself over and over?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Not always.”
He slid over to her, on his knees beside her while she lay in his bed. “You can’t see what I’m going to do, or what I want, because as many years as you’ve been alive, there’s only ever been one me. There will only ever be one me.”
Tenzin kept her eyes on him; her body was frozen.
The cabin was silent, but it wasn’t. The boat creaked and rocked. Waves licked against its metal skin, and in the distance he could hear crew members shouting at each other while Korean pop music played in the galley.
“You want to know what I’m thinking about?” Ben reached over and tucked a piece of Tenzin’s hair behind her ear. “I’m thinking about whether the conversation we need to have is one I even want to have.”
“I see.”
“I doubt it.” Ben stood and held out his hand. “Come on. I think it’s time to go up to the deck. Kadek will want to brief us on what they found today. Hopefully that will help with the boredom.”
“From reports we’ve received from our people”—Kadek was pacing in the conference room—“we know the search area is still undisturbed. Since we determined that the site could be the wreck of the Qamar Jadid, we’ve had immortals in the area watching it.”
Johari, Fabia, Tenzin, and Cheng were sitting around the huge table, looking at the giant map Kadek had put up on the wall.
“Cheng told Zhang that the wreck was likely the Qamar Jadid,” Ben said. “So don’t we already know where it is?”
“Not exactly.” The stocky vampire continued pacing. “The wreck was found by a fisherman. He identified it as a
dhow. Said it was relatively intact. There were a number of other clues that led us to believe it might be Arosh’s ship, but we don’t know the exact site. The fisherman didn’t have a GPS. He tried to find it again, he said, but he couldn’t. He could only give us a general area. That is what we’ve been watching.”
Ben asked, “And no ships have stopped?”
Kadek said, “Human ships have passed through, but none of them have stopped or shown any interest in this particular reef. The area isn’t popular with divers.”
Cheng said, “The greater search area is spread over a number of miles. There are reefs and other formations, so we’ll be using the sonar on this ship quite extensively at first.” He looked at Johari. “I’m not sure if you’ll be able to narrow that down or not.”
Johari raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never done this specific kind of work before. I will be able to move the earth when we find the site—more delicately than the human equipment could—but I’m not sure I’ll have a better sense for where debris is located or not. There’s too much water.”
Fabia raised her hand. “I think the best idea is still using sonar to get a better picture once we’re in range. Using that, the university crew and I should be able to get a better map of where we need to concentrate our attention.”
Cheng asked, “What about the submersibles?”
Tenzin was sitting between Ben and Fabia. “Are those the robots? Do they have remote controls? I could operate the robots.”
“The submersibles are robotic,” Fabia said. “I haven’t looked at them yet, but in water this shallow, we’d probably use them as backup for divers. They can record video of any excavation, which creates a better record to study.”
“Have you been out there?” Ben asked Cheng. “Personally?”
Cheng shook his head.
“So we don’t know that this isn’t a completely unrelated dhow that has no connection to Arosh.” Ben looked across the table at Johari. “Wasn’t the dhow the most commonly used ship during the ninth century for trade?”
Johari nodded. “It was. And while they usually kept close to shore, they could be blown off course by storms, just like any other ship. The water in this strait is not particularly deep. If there are reefs, they could have easily caused a wreck.”
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