More than Magic: Semester Aboard (34 page)

"He was turned recently," Charlie said. "I'm
sure I'd have noticed before."

Thomas frowned. "I would have too. What
happened?"

"Mark jumped me as soon as I came in the
room."

"Not very well thought out," Thomas
muttered.

"No," Charlie agreed. "He's lucky Danio
didn't kill him."

"When were you turned?" TS growled.

Mark's jaw dropped. "It talks!" he cried.

I didn't know that wolves could roll their
eyes, but TS did. He turned back into a human and Mark's eyes grew
impossibly wide.

"Holy shit! Are you like a werewolf or
something?"

"He asked you a question," Dani snarled.

"When were you turned?" TS repeated.

"Turned?"

TS sighed. "Let him up."

Dani glanced at him, eyes still black. "You
sure?"

"He's just a new, confused dhampir, let him
up."

"One wrong move and I'll drive a stake so far
into your hearts it comes out the other side," Dani hissed. Then he
released Mark and stepped back.

Mark slowly climbed to his feet and backed as
far away as he could. He looked back and forth at all of us,
clearly worried. The room was so crammed that Thomas and Dani had
to step around each other to change places. Dani started gently
examining the wound on Charlie's neck and the two whispered softly.
Thomas stood between them and Mark. He reached back and lifted his
shirt just a bit and I saw part of a stake.

"You were human when this voyage started,
right?" TS said.

"Yeah," Mark said, still looking worried,
"but now I'm a vampire." He sounded almost proud. "Well, almost,"
he added.

"Almost?" Thomas asked.

"I'm taking my test," Mark said. "And
then..." He trailed off and gasped in horror. "You're the vampire
slayers aren't you?"

Thomas and TS glanced at each other and I was
sure I heard a chuckle from Dani.

"Vampire slayers?" Thomas said.

Mark nodded. "Nathaniel warned me that there
would be vampire slayers on the ship."

"Nathaniel?" TS asked.

Mark stiffened and eyed him warily. He didn't
look like he was willing to answer.

Thomas snorted in irritation. "We're not
vampire slayers."

"Yeah, right. You think I'm stupid or
something?" Mark said. "You obviously know what I am, so you aren't
regular humans. He threatened to stake me!" Mark pointed at Dani,
then at TS. "And you're a werewolf! Everyone knows that werewolves
are the only animal that can kill a vampire!"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Dani said with
a derisive laugh.

"Do I look like a vampire slayer to you?"
Thomas asked. Before Mark could answer Thomas took a step closer to
him. I couldn't see what he did, but from the way Mark jerked back
in surprise I assumed that Thomas had shown Mark his fangs.

"Whoa! You're a vampire too!" Mark cried.

"When did you become a..." Thomas hesitated.
"When did this happen?"

"Yesterday."

"Where? Do you remember who turned you? Was
it Nathaniel? Did he say anything?"

Mark's eyes narrowed as he studied Thomas.
"I'm not answering anything else."

Thomas sighed and turned to TS. The two
started muttering in another language. I was pretty sure it was
Japanese.

"Is that some sort of secret magic language?"
Mark asked eagerly. He seemed pretty happy, considering he had just
been turned into a vampire, or rather, a dhampir.

A moment later Dani joined them. I felt a
little left out, but it was nice to know that they were using
another language out of necessity, not because they were trying to
talk behind my back. I glanced over at Mariana and saw her frowning
in concentration. She spoke it too then, or at least some of it.
Then Dani rejoined Charlie and started talking slowly. It didn't
sound the same as Japanese and I wondered if it was Greek. I
squeezed into the space between the foot of the bed and the wall
with them. Dani looked up at me and grinned apologetically. I was
glad to see that his eyes, although they were still churning
angrily, were blue again.

"Sorry," he whispered. "We'll fill you in as
soon as we can." He gave my hair a half-hearted fluff and went back
to stand with Thomas and TS.

Charlie smiled at me. "I'm not quite clear
anyway. Most of the Greek I know is from Dani's mother babbling at
me and she usually isn't talking about MES related things."

"And no Japanese?" I guessed.

He shrugged and I got the impression he was
embarrassed that he hadn't learned it. "A bit. Not enough to do
more than order sushi."

"Right," TS said. "Mark, is it? Come along
with us to our room. It's a lot bigger than this one and we'll be
able to talk more comfortably."

Mark hesitated. "I'd rather not." He clearly
still didn't trust us. Then again, I wasn't sure if I trusted him.
Charlie's neck had healed remarkably fast, but it was still fresh
and looked painful. The wound and his shirt, not to mention his
arm, were caked in dried blood.

Dani said something in Japanese and Thomas
sighed, and then nodded. "You said this Nathaniel told you there
are vampire slayers on the ship?"

Mark nodded.

"If there are, that's news to us. If so, we'd
be safer if we stick together. You and I need to talk and since you
were recently turned, you'll need protection. You're not very
strong yet."

"I guess so," Mark said.

"Char, grab your stuff. If this gets worked
out tonight we're still going on our trips in the morning," Thomas
said.

Charlie quickly threw some things into a
suitcase. When he was ready we left the room. TS ran down to his
room to grab his and Thomas’ bags, then the seven of us made our
way upstairs. Because of where Charlie's rooms were located it was
faster to go outside than to wind around the long corridors of the
ship. Charlie walked in front while Thomas and TS flanked Mark.
Dani was behind them, hand on a stake. Mariana and I brought up the
back. Mark didn't look happy about it, but didn't complain.

As soon as we reached the room Charlie
invited Mark in. Either Mark didn't realize he was practically a
prisoner or he didn't care. He looked around the room in awe.

"Wow, get a load of this place!" he cried.
"You're so lucky! A balcony and everything! What's this? Damn!
You've got a freaking living room?"

"Go on in and check it out," TS said.

Mark walked in "This is huge!" He turned to
rejoin us, but Thomas was in the doorway, blocking him.

"Have a seat on the couch, we need to talk
now," Thomas said.

TS joined them and shut the door. Charlie sat
down on his bed with a sigh. Dani sank down next to him and put an
arm around his shoulders. Mariana and I sat on our bed.

"So, what's going on?" I asked softly.

Dani beckoned and I went over and sat next to
him. He leaned over and whispered softly in my ear.

"Mark's obviously been fed a bunch of lies.
He's a dhampir, he can't be turned into a vampire. Ever," Dani
began. I couldn't help but feel a little proud I had already
figured that one out. "And this vampire slayer stuff? I mean, there
are some out there, but not on the ship."

"I don't think it's a coincidence that
my
roommate was turned," Charlie added. "This has to be the
work of our biter."

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

They were both quiet for a moment. Mariana
slipped over and joined us, looking anxious. Finally, Dani
sighed.

"Depending on what Tom finds out, we're going
after the biter."

"What?" I gasped.

"We'll see what Tom learns. If the biter is
turning people, we don't have a choice. We can't let innocent
people get dragged into this."

"He could turn the entire ship," Charlie
added.

We were quiet for a long moment. I shuddered
just thinking about it. Bad enough he'd already gotten one person.
Charlie's neck caught my eye and I looked at it. It looked like it
had started to scar over.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

Charlie put a hand over the healing wound and
nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't very serious." He smiled grimly. "He let
go the moment he realized he was catching on fire." His eyes
darkened and started to smolder. "I thought you were going to kill
him."

Dani shrugged. "Almost did. Honestly, I
thought I was going to typhoon for a moment there. He's damn lucky.
That was a close one."

"If it was you he'd bitten I would have
erupted and fried him," Charlie said softly. "He's
very
lucky."

The four of us sat in silence for what felt
like hours, but was only a few minutes. The door opened and Thomas
and TS walked in. Mark stopped in the doorway. He looked less
enthusiastic than he had before.

"I guess uh..." he said, "I'm not invited
anymore?"

"No," Dani said. "You're not."

Mark looked at the doorway in surprise and
stepped away. He held a hand out to the threshold. "Whoa," he
breathed. "That's neat." He started to close the door and shrugged.
"So uh, I'll let you have your secret agent talk then."

After the door was shut Thomas and TS went
out on the balcony and we followed. Dani slid the door shut behind
us and after a moment Thomas started talking softly.

"Well, he ran into a vampire, by the name of
Nathaniel in Chile, and got turned. Then he was told to get back on
the ship and pretend to be normal. He fed a bit in Chile and last
night he fed from some girl he's been er...seeing. It's a miracle
she's ok. If...Well, when Char came back Mark thought it would be a
perfect chance to feed. This Nathaniel told him that he's being
tested to see if he can make it as a 'real vampire.' If he gets to
Peru safely and well fed, then Nathaniel will turn him into one."
Thomas sighed.

"We explained about dhampirs," TS added
softly. "He didn't seem to like it but..."

"I think this is all a big adventure for him.
He seems to think all of this magic stuff is exciting and fun."
Thomas smiled sadly at me. "I'm sorry it hasn't been that way for
you. Nearly getting killed by a crazed vampire, and having to hide
like this, isn't how I would have liked you to learn about our
world. I wish you were able to just enjoy it the way Mark is."

"I am! I had a great time in the Galapagos
and in Chile. And I've loved what you're teaching me!"

Thomas looked a bit embarrassed by the last
part. "I'm still sorry."

"Besides, he doesn't get it," I said. "He
thinks it's all a big adventure, but it's not. He got turned into a
dhampir by the biter! He was just an innocent bystander who got
dragged permanently into this. I..." I couldn't help but smile as I
spoke and realized it was true. "I belong in this world. And I
already know the dangers and how serious our situation is. Mark's
going to get a rude awakening."

Thomas smiled. "Very true." Then he sighed.
"Back to, as you said, our serious situation... Mark isn't sure if
Nathaniel got back on the ship or not, but I think it's best we
assume he did. We have to go see if we can find him. Tonight."

"Why tonight?" Mariana asked. "We'll be
safely in Peru tomorrow."

"And Nathaniel can jump back off and elude
the authorities and us once again," TS said. "For all we know he
could be in someone's room turning them right now! Mark might not
be his only victim. We have to stop him."

"What if it's a trap?" I asked. It was true
that there was no way Mark being turned was a coincidence. But that
meant that the biter knew he was Charlie's roommate. He wanted us
to find Mark. "We hurt him, killed his other dhampir, and ever
since we've been the ones eluding him. He knows that if he starts
turning people we'll show ourselves to stop him."

Dani smiled broadly and gave my hair a firm
ruffle. "Damn, Jen. You deserve every cent you're getting as a MES
intern. You've got a hell of a head on your shoulders."

I blushed at the praise.

Thomas was smiling too. "You might have a
future at MES if you want one, that's exactly what we thought." He
sighed and my pride deflated at the reminder of how serious this
was. "It could be a trap. But we have to risk it. He's turning
people." He practically spat the last bit. "I can't let that go. If
he was just feeding it would be different. Turning someone..."

"Turning someone takes him from jail time
to...stake on sight," TS said. "Even if he was planning on getting
off in Peru and not coming back...we don't have a choice."

"Even if it's a trap?" I said.

They all nodded.

"It'll be different this time," TS said. "I'm
not stuck in human form tonight, Tom's been eating better, and
we're all armed. And we're ready."

"When do we go?" Mariana asked.

"
We
are going now. The two of you are
staying here," Thomas said.

"What?" I cried.

"If something goes wrong, you'll be safe
here. You can get off in Peru tomorrow and find help. We're not
going to risk your safety."

"But-" I began.

"No," Thomas said firmly. "You're staying
here."

"What about Mark?" Mariana asked
nervously.

"He's not invited into the main bedroom,"
Dani said. "He's trapped in the living room. He won't be going
anywhere and you'll both be safe from him." He lowered his voice
and added, "Jen, he doesn't know much about our world. If he starts
making trouble just throw a few sparks from your wand and bluff. He
doesn't know you're a new witch."

I nodded. "Ok."

"Right, let's go," TS said.

"You'll be careful?" Mariana asked.

Dani hugged her. "Of course, calf. Stay in
the room, don't leave."

"How will we know if you run into trouble?" I
asked.

"We'll try to be back in an hour," Thomas
said. "If we aren't..."

"Why don't you text me?" I suggested. "If
you're gone an hour and want to keep searching, send me a text so I
know you're alright."