More than Magic: Semester Aboard (22 page)

I got out of the shower and didn't even
bother to dry off. I wrapped a towel around myself and squared my
shoulders. I was going to march out there, shake Dani awake if I
had to, and demand my answers. I had turned the doorknob, all I had
to do was push the door open, when I stopped. I thought of Dani's
face, his eyes, when he had gotten back on the ship with Charlie.
Aside from the vampire it had probably been the scariest thing I
had seen all night. He'd been so furious. How would he feel if I
woke him up asking about Thomas, the very person he was mad at?

That was another thing they should have told
me. The conversation between Thomas, TS, and Mariana had worried
me. I knew that fire elementals had self-control problems, but I
hadn't realized water elementals did too. They had been genuinely
worried that Dani would hurt Mariana. If elementals could actually
lose control to the point where they would hurt a friend, shouldn't
I have been told? I had been alone in the middle of the ocean with
Dani. Had my life been in danger? I had felt so safe with him. He'd
been willing to, and nearly had, given his life to protect me
tonight, but could he just as quickly turn around and kill me? Dani
had looked ready to attack Thomas. If he hadn't been holding
Charlie I had a feeling he would have. My stomach clenched at the
thought that Dani had looked mad enough to literally kill Thomas.
And I couldn't convince myself that he wouldn't have tried. Less
than an hour ago I had been thinking of Dani like an older brother,
I had known he'd protect me. Now I was almost afraid to even go out
into the room with him. I certainly wouldn't wake him up and ask
about Thomas.

I shivered. Dani had been
so
mad at
Thomas. His words suddenly hit me and I sucked in a sharp breath.
No. No way. Dani had been ready to hurt, maybe even
kill
Thomas. But all he had done was yell and tell Thomas to stay out of
his room. If you were ready to hurt someone physically and had to
do it verbally there were a million things you could say that were
meaner than telling someone they weren't welcome in your room. But
Thomas had reacted like it was a terrible, hurtful insult. Even TS
and Mariana had been shocked. It didn't sound that bad, at first.
But if you were a vampire and a good friend had uninvited you from
his room, it would be a serious insult. I couldn't believe it, but
it all fit. Thomas wasn't a wizard anymore because he had been
turned into a
vampire
! It explained why he'd been able to
fight so well. Everything fell into place. I thought of all the
glances, all the words, and whispers.
Thomas was a
vampire
.

I put my pajamas on and brushed my teeth in a
daze; every conversation I had ever had with Thomas running through
my mind. I almost couldn't believe he was a vampire, but
everything
led to that conclusion. It was probably yet
another secret they were 'going' to tell me. When? I would have
felt safer knowing that there was a vampire on our side. It was
obvious that I was the only one who didn't know. Mind reeling, I
tiptoed into the room.

"Feel better?" I almost jumped a mile at the
sound of Dani's voice. He chuckled, but it was a half-hearted
version of his usual one. "Sorry."

"It's ok, I thought you were asleep."

"I figured."

I quickly cast my night vision spell and
looked around. Dani was still in bed with Charlie, but he was
propped up on a pillow with an open book. "You're reading?" I asked
in surprise.

He shrugged. "I know I'm not going to be able
to sleep. Reading beats just sitting here. But how are you?"

I considered mentioning Thomas, but decided
to wait. Tonight had been crazy and my mind was going a mile a
minute, it was possible that I had just jumped to the wrong
conclusion. "I'm still sort of freaked out. But I'm ok."

"Good. Try to get some sleep."

"I will. You too."

Dani gave me a small smile, then returned to
his book. I felt bad when I spotted Mariana on the floor; she'd
given me the couch. Guilty, but grateful, I lay down and tried to
fall asleep.

Chapter 13

If I fell asleep thinking about something it
usually took a couple of minutes in the morning to remember it. But
when I woke up everything that had happened last night was etched
firmly in my mind. I actually wasn't entirely sure that I had been
able to fall asleep. I had maybe dozed for a couple of hours at
best. Dani was sitting on the edge of his bed and Mariana was in
the chair looking equally serious. The silence was awkward, almost
oppressive. Charlie, thank goodness, was up. He looked a bit paler
than usual, but other than that looked fine. He was sitting behind
Dani massaging his shoulders. Judging from the grim look on
Charlie's face, Dani had told him what had happened last night.
Charlie noticed me and smiled.

"Morning, Jen."

"Good morning," I said as I sat up. "How are
you feeling?"

"Rather great considering I took a dip in the
ocean."

"How'd you sleep?" Dani asked.

"Not very well." I didn't have to ask how he
had slept. He looked so tired that he probably hadn't been
exaggerating when he had said he wasn't going to sleep. But, to my
relief, there wasn't even a scar where his head had hit the desk.
"How are you?"

"Fine." Dani got up, grabbed some clothes,
and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to change."

Charlie got up too, but came over and sat
next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a
hug.

"Thank you," he whispered in a choked voice.
"I can't even..." He hugged me tighter. "Thank you, Jen." I wasn't
sure how to respond, so I just hugged him back. After a moment he
released me and patted my knee. "So how are you? Really?"

I sighed. "I'm...sort of scared."

Charlie put an arm around my shoulders. "Me
too. But, you don't have to worry. We're going to take care of
this."

I nodded. "I know. But...I'm still scared."
It felt a bit good to say it out loud.

Dani stepped out of the bathroom in time to
hear me. "There's nothing wrong with that." He sat down on my other
side and leaned against me. "Last night was...well, you'd be insane
if you weren't scared. Hell, I've been through worse nights than
that, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't afraid too."

He had? Maybe I was right about the magical
world always being this dangerous. "Is it always like this? Being
magic? Is there always going to be a hungry vampire or something
out there?"

No," Charlie said firmly. "I won't lie,
sooner or later everyone runs into trouble. But is that any
different from non-magics? I mean, sooner or later everyone gets in
a car accident or something, right?"

"I guess."

"I'm sorry that this is your first real
experience being a witch," Dani said. "It really isn't always like
this, I promise. Well..." He laughed. "That is, unless you tend to
go looking for trouble like me."

Someone knocked on the door and we all turned
to look.

"Do you want me to get it?" Mariana
asked.

Dani stood. "No. I got it."

When Dani opened the door I leaned over until
I could see past him into the hall. Thomas and TS were there; both
looked nervous. For a long, tense moment nobody spoke. Then Dani
and Thomas broke the silence at the same time.

"I'm sorry."

Dani heaved a sigh and stepped aside. "Please
come in, Tom," he said softly.

I swallowed nervously. He'd invited Thomas
in. Was it because he
had
to? Was I really right about
Thomas being a vampire? Or was Dani just being polite? Thomas
mumbled a thanks and came in. He slumped down onto the bed by
Mariana's chair and Dani sat down next to him. TS crouched down in
a rather dog-like position that would have been comical if he
hadn't looked so serious. There was another long almost awkward
silence.

"How are you, Char?" Thomas finally said.

"Better."

"I'm sorry."

Charlie shrugged. "Don't be. I don't blame
you."

I studied Thomas carefully, trying to find
some proof that I was right. He looked perfectly normal. Human.
Then again, the vampires last night had looked human too. I
couldn't see any fangs when he spoke, but that didn't mean anything
if he could retract them. His teeth did look sort of pointy, but
not unusually sharp. But he
was
pale and extremely thin;
that sounded like a vampire to me. Then I noticed his arm. It
wasn't broken anymore! It was still a little bruised and there was
a scar over where the bone had broken through, but that was it. He
wasn't even acting like it was sore.

"Thomas?" Dani said nervously. He looked
almost ashamed.

Thomas turned to him. "Yeah?"

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. You know I
would
never
have said that if I was in control."

"I know." Thomas sighed. "But...things
would've ended up a lot differently if I hadn't been, I don't know,
stubborn. I had a dozen chances to stake him and I couldn't do it.
I put everyone in danger. I think..." He trailed off and looked at
Dani in concern. "When were you bleeding?"

My heart skipped a beat. He knew Dani had
been bleeding? He must have been able to smell it! He was a
vampire, he had to be.

Dani stood and walked into the alcove by the
door and beckoned Thomas over. Dani started whispering to Thomas,
probably telling him what had happened. Not long after Dani and
Thomas started talking a worried frown crossed TS’ face and he
joined them. A moment later Thomas cursed and put a hand on Dani's
shoulder, then hugged him. Afterwards Thomas slumped against a wall
with a heavy sigh.

"I need to go make a phone call," he said.
"I'm going to apply for-"

"Tom!" Dani cried. "Not because of me! What
happened last night isn't happening again."

"I've been thinking about it anyway," Thomas
said firmly. "I'm not going to use it right away. I just want
it...in case. Mariana, is your offer still good?"

Mariana looked shocked, but nodded. "Of
course."

"Thank you." Thomas looked less than happy
about whatever Mariana had offered. "I'll get food while I'm gone.
I'm sure you girls are hungry."

"I am too," TS said.

Thomas smiled weakly at him. "You're always
hungry, mutt. I'll be right back."

This was the perfect opportunity to confront
him! We'd be able to talk on the way to the dining hall. "I'll come
with you," I said as I stood.

"No need. I won't be long."

"I want to talk."

"It can wait five minutes."

"No, it can't. If I come with you we can talk
in private," I insisted.

"This isn't a good time to be wandering the
ship. It isn't safe. We'll talk when I get back."

I wasn't sure if I believed him. He'd
probably come up with another excuse and keep putting it off. "I'll
be safe with you."

"No, you won't." Now he was just lying! "Five
minutes." With that, Thomas turned and grabbed the doorknob.

"Well, who better to protect me from a
vampire than
another
vampire?" I snapped.

Thomas’ shoulders jerked as if he'd been
shocked. There was an audible gasp as everyone stared at me. Thomas
turned slowly and looked at me in disbelief.

"W-what?"

He looked so surprised I had figured it out
that I felt insulted. "Do you think I'm stupid or something,
Thomas? Did you honestly think I wouldn't put two and two together
eventually? I mean, if I hadn't figured it out last night, I would
have this morning. How's your arm? Wasn't it
broken
a few
hours ago?"

He hung his head and sighed. "I was going to
tell you."

"
When
?" I demanded. "I'm sick of being
kept out of it! I feel like for everything you tell me there's
always another secret! Just because I didn't know about magic
doesn't mean I'm an idiot!"

"I know that. I...I just...look, give me five
minutes. Then we'll talk, I promise." Before I could answer Thomas
flung open the door and was gone.

Everyone else was still staring at me. I was
saved when the theme from
Jaws
started playing. Charlie
groaned.

"It's your mother. Again."

Dani winced. "Oh God, tell her I'm not
here."

"I'm not answering."

"She'll keep calling if you don't."

Charlie glared at him. "I can't have a
conversation with her without hearing about the latest property for
sale in Boston. I'm starting to think she moonlights as a real
estate agent."

"So...tell her that my hatred for
Massachusetts sports teams outweighs my love for you and I refuse
to move there."

"She'll just find a different state," Charlie
said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh. I was hoping that she'd keel over after
my previous statement and we wouldn't have to worry about it."

The phone started to ring again. This time,
Charlie pulled it out of his pocket, answered it, and wordlessly
tossed it to Dani.

Dani looked mortified for a moment. Then he
silently cursed and held up the phone. "Hi, Ma! I'm actually right
in the middle of-" I could hear a steady stream of talking on the
other end. Dani pinched the bridge of his nose and started speaking
rapidly in Greek.

After a couple of minutes TS came over and
sat next to me. "Jen, listen," he said softly, "Tom was going to
tell you. He was actually thinking about doing it today. Try not to
be too upset with him, alright?"

Then Thomas was back and still didn't look
too happy. He set a bag of croissants on the desk. "Dig in. We'll
talk when you're done eating okay, Jennifer?"

I wanted to argue, but I was hungry. Mariana,
TS, and I all grabbed some food. Nobody but Dani, who was still on
the phone and not looking happy about it, spoke. I ate quickly and
stood as soon as I was finished.