Forever Young - Book 2 Read online

  “I don’t have any specific intelligence about anything,” Kamila said. “I just think it’s foolish to forget we’re at war, you know? They’re coming for us. We can never, ever forget that. We have to remember we’re stuck on this ship until we get to the next leg of our journey, when we can make our next move. We really can’t make a run for it here. If a vampire got into the hold somehow, stowing away in someone’s luggage or sneaking in with the food deliveries, we’d have no chance of getting away.”

  “And the vampire would have a whole boat full of helpless victims.” I shuddered. I could imagine, all too easily, body after body turning up on the deck. “What are we going to do? Should we comb through the hold like inspectors or something? Actually, inspectors could make a good ruse.”

  “Not really,” Tess said. “The inspectors would stand out in people’s memories. They might even mention it to the company when leaving reviews.” Tess picked up a pen from the desk and chewed on it. “We need to stay vigilant, but we can’t do anything that would make us stand out. As in, at all. Even having Daisy with us is a risk.”

  “Daisy stays.” Kamila met Tess’s eyes squarely. She wouldn’t back down.

  “Of course she does.” Tess bowed her head. “I wouldn’t want to get rid of Daisy any more than I’d want to get rid of my own right arm. I love that dog, Kamila. You know that. I’m just saying, she stands out. We can’t afford to have anything else about us that does. Does that make sense?”

  “Sure.” Kamila smiled tightly and sat back in her seat. Someone who didn’t know her body language would have thought she was relaxed. The three of us had spent enough time cooped up together that I knew better, and so did Tess.

  We could hear the sounds of the ship all around us. It was amazing to me just how much activity went on despite the early hour. I supposed a cruise ship must be a lot like a real city, and since everything on a cruise ship was artificial, it required constant effort. I was just assuming, of course, but it wasn’t as if help could just be brought in from the next town over. All of the cabins had to be gotten ready for the next voyage. Restaurants, bars, and employee dining halls had to be readied for a long trip. Cooking surfaces, swimming pools, and spas had to be tested. Repairs had to be made, and maintenance had to be performed, and the ship had a hard deadline in which to get it all done.

  I caught myself listening in on more than a few conversations. Moored in the water as we were, it was almost too easy. One thing the crew had in common was a nearly universal respect for their captain. Logan might have been young—or at least they thought so—but his ship never ran into trouble on the water. Even when the equipment malfunctioned, they never ran off course. They never had the slightest danger of hitting another ship. They always made passengers happy by getting close enough to see dolphins, but never got close enough to hurt them.

  I knew what they were implying, even if they probably didn’t. Captain Logan wasn’t just a Ferin. Captain Logan was a water Ferin, like me. He was using his water power to keep the ship out of trouble.

  I mentioned this to the ladies as we sat and waited for our host, and Kamila nodded. “You’re not wrong. Not wrong at all. He’s been doing it for a good three hundred years or so.”

  “Three hundred years?” I covered my mouth. I knew I shouldn’t be surprised by any of this anymore, but I couldn’t help it. “That’s a hell of a long time to be a sea captain.”

  “Oh, he wasn’t just a sea captain. He was a pirate.” Her eyes danced merrily. “He decided to go legit when the colonies revolted. He had a new chance on life, he said, and he supposed he might as well become civilized. He’d spent enough time being a barbarian. Maybe he’ll go back to his old ways again someday when it’s lucrative enough, but for now, he has comfort and a ship the size of Manhattan to command. I can’t imagine what would possibly make him go back to robbing and plundering.”

  I could think of a few things. A war with the vampires was one. “But wait. If we’re supposed to be avoiding anything traceable or electronic, how does Logan get away with being on a ship equipped with GPS trackers and Wi-Fi?”

  “Not everyone thinks avoiding technology is a great idea.” Tess stuck her tongue out at me. “Of course, the ones who ignore that rule usually die a lot, but some manage to stick it out. I don’t think vampires are all that keen on water, especially the open ocean. They’ll cross it if they have to, obviously, but they avoid it. They find it reflects sunlight, for one thing, and they don’t want to risk it if they don’t have to.”

  I found some of my muscles relaxing just a little bit. “That’s good to know. If we need to avoid the vampires, we can always run away to Hawaii or something.”

  Kamila wagged her finger at me. “Now don’t go thinking that’s the answer. Obviously, they got to the New World somehow, same way I did.”

  Tess shot her a glance. “Sorry, Kamila. I always think of you as being just as American as apple pie.”

  Kamila winked at her. “First of all, apple pie isn’t necessarily an American invention. Secondly, I am as American as apple pie—just like every other immigrant who came ashore in a leaky boat.” Then she laughed. “Anyway, the vampires are still going to come for us. Now that they know what Jason is, they’re going to make finding him a priority. They’d cross the ocean ten times over if they could find him and take him down.”

  The office door opened, and the captain entered. “Ah, but my dear Kamila, you’re forgetting what the other side of that is. If they’re willing to take the dear boy down at such a risk to themselves, then he must be able to take the bastards down. He must have what it takes to finish them. That’s important, yeah?” Logan looked me up and down.

  I blushed. Logan’s look had something sensual about it, even if he didn’t say or do anything particularly overt. “Well, we’ll find out. I’ve still got a lot to learn.” I perked up. “I don’t suppose you’re up to teaching a few lessons on the way?”

  Logan snorted. “I’m probably the world’s worst teacher. You’d only wind up more confused than when you started. If I see or think of anything, I’ll tell you, but if I sat down and tried to explain something, we’d both wind up incompetent. Besides, running the ship tends to be a full-time occupation. Come on with me, the lot of you. I’ll show you to your rooms.” He grinned at me. “I might not be able to teach, but at least I can make sure you’re not sleeping on the floor while you’re here.”

  6

  Logan led us all into a new and different part of the ship. We’d only seen the working parts of the ship before, the parts where the crew performed the labor that created such a magical experience for the thousands of people who would be spending their vacation in this floating horde of humanity. I’d assumed we’d be staying here ourselves, either in a storage room or in one of the cabins reserved for crew.

  When we emerged into a wood-paneled hallway, with its own bar and chandelier, I realized I was wrong.

  Logan didn’t say a word as he guided us to a doorway near the middle of the ship. He opened the door and let us into the room, and what I saw made my jaw drop. Our cabin turned out to be a loft type of apartment, with separate sleeping quarters for each of us, a palatial bathroom, and a balcony. The common room boasted a large-screen television and the most comfortable couch I’d ever touched.

  Daisy wagged her tail and leaned against Logan’s leg. He scratched her head, oblivious to the red hair she was leaving on his bright white uniform. “There’s a good girl,” he crooned. “See how the upholstery matches your fur, girl? I planned that, I did.”

  She licked his hand.

  “Isaac,” Kamila breathed. “You didn’t have to do this. Not for us.”

  “Nonsense.” Logan waved his hand. “It turns out the people who booked the cabin backed out well past the refund date anyway. So we’re not losing anything by having you here. And I might not know exactly where you’re going or what you’re going to get up to when you’re there, but something tells me comfort’s going to be a low con
sideration. You might as well enjoy it while you have it.”

  Kamila looked down, cheeks pink.

  I didn’t know what had passed between her and Logan all those years ago, and I didn’t need to. He was going out of his way to help us out now. “Thank you, Captain. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem, Jason. Give a holler when you’re done with whatever you’re doing. If you’ve got need of an old sea captain, I’ll be there. Who knows? I can still swing a sword. I can tell you that much.” Something dangerous gleamed in his eye. “I’ll bet there’s still some use for an old pirate after all.” He turned for the door. “Settle in, make yourselves at home. You’ve got wristbands on the sideboard there, so you’ve got access to everything any other passenger would. If you need anything, let me know.”

  And with that, Captain Logan was gone.

  “He seems like a nice man,” Tess said after a moment.

  “He is,” Kamila murmured. “At least now that he’s not raiding every passing ship for plunder, anyway. That’s only fun for the first ten years or so.” She straightened up and smiled. “Let’s see what our cabin has to offer, shall we? He’s probably not wrong about what the future holds. We might as well enjoy it while it’s ours.”

  I poked around the cabin for a little while. We each had our own room, but none of us liked the idea of sleeping alone very much. Even Kamila, who’d slept by herself in the New York compound, was ready to come back to a little more contact. We agreed the biggest room would be the one we shared, and the others would be fine for storing our small amount of gear.

  All this space and so little to put in it. It seemed almost like a shame.

  The first thing I wanted to do was take a shower. For months, I’d been making do with whatever facilities were available. I’d washed in truck stops, in rest areas, in washtubs heated on coal fires, and once even in the Pacific Ocean. If someone was going to offer me a state-of-the-art bathroom, complete with high-end shampoos and soaps, I was going to take it.

  I almost passed out with delight when I saw the bathroom. It looked like something from a real-estate magazine. The shower stall was massive, with multiple shower heads for any purpose a person could think of. All three of us could have showered in there at once. We could have brought friends.

  And I had it all to myself. I shucked my clothing and slipped under the blessedly warm, consistently pressured water.

  That might seem odd to someone who’d never become homeless, but I had experienced it recently. And I couldn’t say I didn’t like my life. I lived the way I did for a reason, and I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter right now. Someday, I might, but for now, it just wasn’t feasible. I just had to give up certain things.

  But if I could get them back, even for a little while? Oh, hell yes, I was going to take it.

  I must have spent twenty minutes in there, maybe more, just scrubbing and getting clean. When I came out, Tess and Kamila were waiting for me. I looked at them both. “Did I smell that bad?”

  Tess smiled. “A little bit. We weren’t going to say anything.”

  “We probably could use a shower too, but first, we wanted to check something out.” Kamila grabbed her bathing suit. “There’s an indoor pool on the ship. And it’s heated!”

  I rummaged through my bag until I found my bathing suit. I’d bought it in San Diego and hadn’t used it since. By the time I got it on, the ladies were in theirs, and we were able to run down to the most luxurious indoor pool I’d ever seen.

  Seriously, the thing was bizarre. The room was decorated like something from the 1920s, all glamor and decadence. I thought I caught a little sigh from Tess, who’d seen all that stuff firsthand, and I promised myself we wouldn’t leave until Tess was good and ready.

  The water was as warm as I imagined the water of the Caribbean would be. We all jumped in and swam around for a while, and when we wanted to rest, we could climb out and get smoothies or frozen drinks at the poolside bar. Little by little, other passengers trickled in to join us as the day wore on, but for the most part, they weren’t drawn to the pool quite yet.

  I did feel it when the great ship pulled out to sea. There weren’t words to describe the sensation. The boat—ship—pushed the water out of its way, but the water also pushed back against the ship and kept it afloat. To some extent, it almost felt like I was the one pushing back, a sensation that hummed in my blood, but not unpleasantly.

  Kamila put her hand on my shoulder. “You feeling okay there, Jason?”

  I shook my head to clear it, and the world returned to normal. “Yeah. Yeah, everything’s great. Sorry. It was just weird. We’re pulling out of the harbor now.”

  “Are we?” She tilted her head to the side. “I guess the engines just kicked in. How funny.”

  Tess splashed us, and we went back to playing and drinking and having a good time.

  After we got our momentary fill of the pool, we headed back to the suite and used the shower again. This time, all three of us washed up, getting the chlorine off our skin and just wallowing in the ability to get warm and clean on demand. I washed both Kamila’s and Tess’s hair for them. It was something they enjoyed, and oddly intimate, and we had the space.

  I offered to give Daisy a bath, but she turned her back on me. Two out of three ain’t bad.

  We didn’t have clothing suitable for evening wear, but we’d stolen a boatload of cash from the vampires in Twin Falls for just such an occasion. The ship had a store where we could buy actual formalwear. I hadn’t worn a tuxedo since my wedding, but here I was, getting all dolled up to go eat.

  And I kind of liked it. I was almost ashamed to like it. Normal people didn’t put on fancy dress to have a meal. It felt excessive, up until Tess took my hand.

  “We’re not normal,” Tess told me, wearing a gorgeous dress that showed off her perfectly formed back. “We’re not normal, and we’re not here for a normal occasion. And neither is anyone else. So come on. Live a little!”

  So I did. We headed down to the ship’s formal restaurant to enjoy one of the most fantastic meals I’d ever experienced. Cuts of meat like I’d only ever read about, vegetables cooked to perfection, and starches to give Atkins devotees fits. And it was all complimentary.

  A guy could get used to this. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get used to this, but I could see how someone might. Delicacies like this were more than just fuel for the day ahead. They were the height of privilege. They completed the fantasy that the whole cruise experience built.

  I glanced around the dining room, more out of force of habit. The other passengers, at least in this room, were mostly older. A few of them were closer to our apparent age, but not many. Some of them had probably saved for decades to be able to afford this tonight. It was a huge treat for them, a big deal. Then they’d go back to their regular lives, retirement or work, grandkids, shoveling snow, whatever. We didn’t belong here. We stood out, but some of the old people seemed not to mind. They beamed at us, happy we were young and enjoying our lives while we could.

  If you only knew. I smiled back at them, though, because there was no point in getting cynical. We were having a good time. The three of us were like giddy little kids, and if something could make you like a giddy little kid when you were four hundred years old, then it was probably okay to celebrate it.

  My eyes fell on one of the younger women. She looked frighteningly like Margaret. She had the same blonde hair, the same delicate features. It gave me pause.

  Margaret hadn’t been able to enjoy a nice cruise down to wherever before she died. She’d made the trip from wherever to America in an old, leaky, scary wooden boat. She’d suffered. She’d worked hard to try to unite Ferin, to try to give us a chance against the vampires. And she’d died for it.

  I poked at my food. Somehow, it didn’t have quite as much appeal.

  Maybe the strange woman was related to Margaret. Maybe she was a descendant. How was I to know how old Margaret had been at her change? She’d probably had at least
one child, possibly several. It only stood to reason that there would be people running around with her looks.

  I didn’t know if Kamila or Tess saw the Margaret doppelgänger. I knew they saw my mood slip because Tess rested her hand over mine. Kamila moved her hand over my knee, under the table, where no one else could see.

  “You know what we need to do?” Tess murmured into my ear.

  “Practice and be ready in case the vampires are waiting for us in the port?” I swallowed hard. It would be difficult to tear myself away from all this luxury to go focus on water and fire, but I had to do what I had to do.

  “Well, that too. But first, dancing.” Tess patted my hand and stood up.

  “Dancing?” I followed her, mostly because I was used to following her at this point. “I don’t dance. I’ve never danced.”

  “Well, you dance now, buddy. Come on. And if you’ve never danced, how do you know you won’t like it?”

  Kamila followed us out, a hand on my back. I let them lead me down to another level. We went to an entertainment deck, where we found several nightclubs to choose from. Multiple nightclubs, all on the same deck, on a ship floating at sea. What a world we lived in, and what a world I’d missed out on when I could still be part of it.

  We showed our wristbands to the bouncers at the door, who waved us through. I’d never been a dancer, but that was going to change tonight.

  7

  Dancing was an interesting experience.

  When I’d really been in my early twenties, I hadn’t made time for dancing. Linda hadn’t been into it, and I usually had track to deal with. No one who had something early in the morning, like track, was going to stay out all night sweating and gyrating. Drinking was out too. Some guys wouldn’t even have sex during the track season, but for a lot of us, between the hours we kept and the flat runners’ asses, it wasn’t an issue.