More than Magic: Semester Aboard (19 page)

"Tethys don't, you're human!" Charlie
yelled.

TS ignored him and took a flying leap at the
vampire. He knocked him off of Thomas and the two tumbled into a
pile of rope. Thomas yanked the stake out of his chest with a gasp
of pain and staggered to his feet. Even though TS was twice his
size, the vampire picked him up as if he weighed nothing and hurled
him further across the deck. TS crashed into some equipment with a
dog-like yelp and fell to the deck. A flare of light caught my
attention and I turned. Charlie had set the dhampir on fire! He
screamed and dropped to the deck, frantically trying to put the
blaze out. Charlie turned his attention to the vampire and raced
toward him. Thomas took a swing at the vampire with the stake,
forcing him to back closer to Charlie. Charlie wrapped his arms
around the vampire's waist and I stared in amazement as they both
burst into flames. Thomas threw the stake into the air toward the
dhampir. I was confused, there was no way it would stake him from
that angle. Then I saw why; TS had recovered. He darted across the
deck, caught the stake, and slammed it down into the dhampir's
chest. The dhampir screamed in pain, then went still and silent. My
breath caught in my throat. TS had just killed him. I felt naive as
I stared at the body. They had been talking about stakes and I had
realized that they might kill vampires, but it had never really
sunk in before. Never mind that they were vampires and dhampirs,
they were people and my friends were ready and willing to kill
them. Maybe I was in over my head. I couldn't believe that a bunch
of college students were expected to do this work.

TS pulled out the stake and tossed it,
without looking, over his shoulder. Thomas jumped for it and caught
it. At that moment the vampire jerked free of Charlie's grasp and
threw him across the deck. Charlie slammed into the rails, but was
back on his feet in an instant. TS dragged the dhampir's body
toward the rails and then heaved it over the side, while Thomas and
the vampire circled each other. The vampire looked badly burned and
had a wary eye on Charlie. Flames appeared in Charlie's hands again
and he edged closer to the vampire. The vampire dove for Thomas and
this time yanked the stake from his hand and hurled it away. TS ran
for it as Thomas struggled with the vampire. A ball of water hit
the vampire's head and he turned, distracted. Thomas wrenched the
vampire's arms behind his back and held on. I looked to where the
water had come from in time to see Dani jump over the rails and
onto the deck. Mariana, looking horrified, was still behind the
rails. Dani pulled his knife out and quickly advanced on the
vampire. The vampire hissed and snarled furiously as Thomas held
him in place. Charlie planted both hands on the vampire's chest and
they were both engulfed in flames again. For a moment I was worried
that Thomas would be burned, but it seemed like Charlie was able to
control the fire. TS and Dani edged closer, stake and knife
ready.

Then the vampire twisted free of Thomas'
grip, spun, and snapped one of Thomas' arms like it was a twig. He
then shoved Thomas away, grabbed Charlie, and hurled him through
the air. This time he didn't hit the railing, he went over it. I
heard a discordant sound that made my ears hurt. It was
simultaneously filled with fury and despair, and it took me a
moment to realize it was Dani screaming. He hurtled across the deck
and dove over the railing, just seconds behind Charlie. I heard a
curse and looked back across the deck. TS was helping Thomas to his
feet and the vampire was nowhere to be seen. Mariana vaulted over
the rails and hurried toward them. I joined them and for a moment,
nobody spoke. Thomas' forearm was dripping blood and I was sure I
could see a bone sticking out. It was already bruising all around
the break. I couldn't see the wound in his chest, but his shirt was
drenched in blood all around it.

Then Dani was back. He climbed over the
railing and stood still on the deck. He had Charlie in his arms and
I stared in horror. Charlie was paler than I had ever seen him. His
lips looked almost blue and he was unconscious. In fact, the only
reason I could tell he was alive was that he was shivering
violently. Dani wasted no time drying him off.

"Oh god," Thomas cried. "Will he live?"

Dani looked up for the first time and I took
a step backward in horror. His eyes were black. They were so dark I
couldn't even see his pupils, just furiously crashing black
waves.

"No thanks to you," he snarled. His voice was
lower and more menacing than I had imagined it could get.

"I'm sorry," Thomas stammered. "Jesus, I'm so
sorry."

"I don't want to hear it," Dani said. He
stormed over to Thomas. I had known that Dani was taller, but he
had never seemed to tower over Thomas before. "I am done arguing
with you. We are not going to die because you're too stubborn and
foolish to take care of yourself. You're not a goddamn child, so
stop acting like one. I don't even want to see you until you grow
the hell up." With that, he turned and stomped toward the
stairs.

"Danio, I-" Thomas began.

Dani spun around, eyes still churning. "I
said I don't want to hear it. And stay the fuck out of my room,
Thomas. You're not welcome there."

Thomas couldn't have looked more stunned if
Dani had slapped him. Mariana and TS both gasped. Dani went up the
stairs, Thomas staring after him in shock. Mariana inched over to
him.

"I should go...do you need me to..."

"No, I'll be fine," Thomas said.

"Ok."

Mariana hurried up the stairs after Dani.
After a long moment Thomas turned to me.

"We should get inside. It's not safe out
here."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." He gingerly rolled the shoulder of
his broken arm.

The three of us went up the stairs in silence
and through the door to Deck Four. The long corridor was empty all
the way to the other end of the ship. Dani and Mariana were already
in their room. I could hear Thomas and TS whispering softly behind
me as we walked. Before I could demand to know what they were
talking about, Thomas spoke.

"It's probably safest in Dani and Mariana's
room, but...well, we'll see." His voice sounded a bit strained. I
thought about suggesting he go to the doctor, but wasn't sure how
he'd explain the injuries.

TS knocked on the door to Dani and Mariana's
room. I looked up and down the hall nervously, half expecting the
vampire to jump out. The door opened and Mariana stuck her head
out.

"Is he ok?" Thomas whispered.

"Charlie or Dani?" Mariana said. "Charlie is
still unconscious, but I think he'll be ok. And Dani...he's still
pretty upset, but he's calming down."

"Do you feel safe in here?"

"What? We haven't invited anybody in. Of
course we're safe."

"I meant...I meant with Dani."

Mariana looked shocked. "Yes! How can you
even say that?"

"He's not himself right now," TS said.

"He's fine and so am I!"

Thomas still looked concerned and I was too.
"He's an elemental, Mariana. You never know if-"

"He's not even typhooning anymore," Mariana
snapped. "And even if he was, it wouldn't matter, he'd never hurt
me."

I chewed my lip nervously. Thomas actually
thought that Dani would hurt Mariana? It seemed like there were
some important things about elementals that I didn't know.

Thomas nodded. "And Jennifer?"

Mariana sighed and leaned against the
doorframe. "Yes. Thomas, Charlie almost
died
! The last thing
Dani is going to do tonight, even if he isn't in control, is hurt
someone else he cares about."

"Ok. Jennifer?" Thomas gestured for me to go
inside.

Mariana moved so that I could fit by her and
I went into the room. I turned back to Thomas and TS.

"Will you be ok, Thomas?" I couldn't tell if
his chest was still bleeding or not, but there a lot of blood. He
looked like he was breathing a little hard and I was worried the
stake had punctured a lung.

He nodded and put a hand over his broken arm.
"I'll live. Goodnight, Jennifer. I...I'm sorry you had to
experience that."

"Night, Jen," TS said. "Things will work out.
And I'll look after Tom, don't worry about him."

They started to turn when Mariana spoke.

"Thomas? You know Dani didn't mean it. He'd
never..."

Thomas sighed. "I know. We'll be by in the
morning."

Mariana closed the door and we went into her
room. Charlie was in the bed and Dani was sitting in a chair beside
him. Dani didn't even glance up at us as we came in. Mariana and I
sat down on the couch. The minutes dragged by, but I was worried
about setting Dani off if I said anything. The conversation Thomas
and Mariana had had worried me. Charlie was still horribly pale,
but it looked like a little color was returning to his cheeks. When
Dani leaned forward to brush a lock of hair off of Charlie's
forehead, Mariana broke the silence.

"Dani? How is he?"

"Warming up."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Dani's shoulders suddenly tensed. He
turned around. His eyes were still and gray, and he looked ashamed.
"I've never typhooned in front of you before. I'm sorry."

Mariana shook her head. "Don't be! It's
ok."

"No, it's not. You shouldn't have had to see
me like that. And I-oh God." He buried his face in his hands. "Tell
me I didn't really say that to Tom."

"He knows you didn't mean it."

"I'm such a...man, I feel horrible." Dani
sighed heavily. "Jen, I'm so sorry, I haven't even asked if
you're
ok."

"I'm fine. I'm a bit freaked out, but...I'll
be ok."

Dani smiled weakly. "Good. Do you have your
wand?"

I shook my head, feeling guilty. Maybe if I
had had it on deck I could have done something. I wasn't powerful
enough to set anybody on fire, but maybe sparks could have
distracted the vampire.

To my surprise, Dani stood. "Let's go get it.
I'm not sure how much it would help, but I think Char could use a
warming spell, if not some flames." He studied me for a moment.
"Plus, we need to get your things."

I didn't like the idea of leaving the room.
"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'll feel guilty letting you
go to sleep in bloody clothes." As he spoke I realized that there
were indeed blood spots on my shirt. I suppressed a shudder. "You
could always borrow something, but I think that after what happened
you'll be a lot happier getting to change into your own clothes.
Maybe take a shower, brush your teeth with your own toothbrush. It
doesn't sound like much, but you'd be surprised how little things
like that can really help in these situations." He glanced at
Charlie. "And I'd really like that warming spell."

"Ok."

Dani kissed Charlie on the forehead and
whispered something in Greek. Then he headed for the door. "We'll
be right back, Mariana. Keep an eye on him."

"Of course. Be careful."

"We will."

I joined Dani by the door and he stuck his
head out into the hallway and looked around. "We're going right to
your door, no stopping." He took my arm and we hurried down the
empty corridor. When we got to my room I realized that there was no
lanyard around my neck.

"Oh my god," I gasped. "I don't have my key!"
What on earth had I done with it? Had I lost it out on deck?

"That's ok, we got them rigged while we were
in Ecuador." Dani swiped his own on my door and it clicked
open.

I used the light from my phone to get to my
nightstand and pulled my wand out, then cast my night vision spell.
I didn't want to wake Laurie by turning on the light.

Dani came up behind me and whispered, "Get
what you need. Toiletries, something to sleep in, and a change of
clothes for tomorrow. If you have any comfort stuff, grab that
too."

"Ok."

I was about to squeeze past him, when he
sucked in a sharp breath and flung his arm out in front of me.
Before I could say anything he backed up a step. He pushed me back
so far that I ended up sitting on my nightstand. My shoulder bumped
into the light switch and flipped it on. The light was blindingly
bright. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and opened them just
in time to see Dani snap his knife out.

"Stay right with me, we're leaving," he said.
His voice sounded odd, strained.

He started forward and, worried, I stood and
followed. I glanced at Laurie to see if the light had woken her and
saw what Dani must have. She was pale and there were two scabs on
her throat. The vampire had been in my room.

Chapter 12

We had only gotten a few steps when there was
a click from the door. Dani tensed and readied his knife, pushing
me further behind him. My door swung open and the vampire stepped
in, grinning. To my horror he held up an all too familiar ID
card.

"I should thank you for this, Miss Maddox,"
he said. His tone sent a chill through me. "And of course, your
delicious roommate was all too happy to let me in."

He had changed out of the burned and ripped
clothes he had been wearing on the deck, but I could still see the
burns from Charlie on his face and hands. But they were just fresh
looking scars, not the blackened wounds they had been just minutes
ago. I couldn't believe how fast he had healed; no wonder vampires
were hard to kill.

"Jen, vampires have to be invited in," Dani
whispered. "This is your room, so you-"

That was as far as he got. The vampire moved
in the blink of an eye. He crossed the room in a split second,
grabbed Dani, and slammed him up against the wall. He had a firm
grip on Dani's wrist, preventing him from using the knife. His
other hand was clamped over Dani's mouth like he hadn't wanted Dani
to finish what he had been telling me. I didn't think it mattered;
I knew vampires had to be invited in. Laurie had and, obviously,
the invitation was still good. For a moment, Dani's eyes were a
pale shade of hopeless blue-gray and I knew that there was no way
we could win this. I realized that I was shaking, but I couldn't
help it; the vampire could kill us both!