More than Magic: Semester Aboard (47 page)

"TS!" I cried. "The sun!"

He looked up and his eyes widened in horror.
"Bloody hell!" He dove for the living room and Dani slammed the
door behind him.

Then, Dani grabbed me and backed away. We
stood silently for several agonizingly long seconds. Then I heard
growling.

"Oh my God, what do we do?" I gasped.

Before Dani could answer the door burst open
and TS stalked into the room, snarling. And then he lunged. Dani
shoved me out of the way and dove at TS. They crashed into each
other and rolled across the floor. TS was snapping and growling at
Dani while Dani frantically tried to hold him off. I watched in
horror as they fought. They were halfway onto one of the beds when
Dani somehow got TS in a headlock. TS flipped himself over backward
and they both tumbled to the ground.

"Ow!" Dani cried out. "Crap,
ow
! Get
off!"

To my surprise TS immediately scrambled off
of him. He sat down and cocked his head to one side. "Sorry, you
ok?"

My jaw dropped; he was talking. Dani put a
hand over his stomach and sat up with a wince.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looked at me and
grinned. "It was worth it for that expression."

I realized that I was still standing there in
shock. TS looked at me with his tongue lolling out. He laughed for
a moment, and then flattened his ears against his head and in
concern.

"You aren't too mad, are you?" he asked.

My heart was still pounding, but I was too
relieved to be mad. "I'm not mad, but you both really freaked me
out."

"Sorry," TS whimpered.

"Don't be. I'm sure it was Dani's idea."

Dani stood, still looking a bit pained. "I'm
sorry too. But it's not every day you find a magic who expects a
werewolf to go all Lon Chaney Jr. during a full moon."

I could tell he was actually sorry and
something about the fact he felt comfortable enough playing a prank
like that on me was actually sort of nice. I'd always liked the
idea of an older brother who joked around with me. I had a feeling
that pranks were one of Dani's ways of showing affection. As
annoying as being on the receiving end was, I didn't mind.

"It's ok," I said. Dani's eyes were still
swirling with amusement, but I could see a touch of gray too. I
glanced at TS' long claws. "Did he scratch you?"

Dani shook his head. "Just kicked me is all.
Clumsy mutt." He patted TS, harder than necessary, on the head.

But TS pulled away and his tail drooped down.
"I kicked you in the stomach? Bugger, I'm sorry. Are you sure
you're alright?"

Dani shrugged. "Nothing a swim won't fix. I
might as well head out anyway, Mariana should be back soon and I
don't want her to have to wait too long in the port."

The door opened and Charlie walked in.
"That's the last time I stop to speak with a professor. I'm pretty
sure I just heard tomorrow's entire lecture." He looked at TS.
"It's after sunset already? Ashes, that took a lot longer than I
thought. Dan, when are you getting Mariana?"

"Was about to leave. I'll probably bring her
back and then get Tom too."

Charlie studied him and his eyes smoldered in
concern. "Are you ok?"

"Fine," Dani said. He started for the
balcony.

"Your stomach is bothering you," Charlie
said. "When did that start?"

"I'm fine," Dani repeated. "TS stepped on me,
it's nothing serious."

"How did he step...you know what, I don't
want to know." Charlie followed Dani out onto the balcony.

After Dani dove off of the side Charlie
rejoined us. He sat on the edge of the bed near TS. "Did you
actually step on him or was his stomach acting up before?"

"We were wrestling and I accidentally landed
on him. He was grand before that."

Charlie nodded. "Ok. Toasty."

Their conversation piqued my curiosity. "Is
there something wrong with Dani's stomach?"

For a moment neither answered, then Charlie
sighed. "Yeah, he's got an old abdominal injury that never healed
properly. It still bothers him now and again."

That made me even more curious. Dani healed
so rapidly I couldn't imagine something not healing right. I'd seen
TS recover from a shattered bone in a single day and I was sure
Dani would have too. "But he heals so fast," I protested.

"He was dehydrated at the time," Charlie said
softly. "By the time he got enough water some of the damage was
already permanent."

"Oh...." It was a bit disheartening to come
across something else I hadn't known about magics.

A phone started ringing.

TS groaned. "Put that on speaker for me, will
you?"

Charlie and I both looked around for the
phone.

"Where is it?" Charlie asked.

"Must have fallen out of my pocket when I
shifted." He stuck his nose under a blanket he and Dani had knocked
to the floor. A moment later he pulled back out with his phone in
his mouth. He handed it up to Charlie who hit a few buttons and
then held it out.

"Agent Conall," TS said. A gruff, yet
feminine voice answered in another language. TS' tongue lolled out
and he eagerly replied. Charlie set the phone down on the floor and
TS settled in next to it.

Charlie started unpacking and I returned to
my suitcase as well. As TS talked my year of high school French
came back to me and I recognized the language. I'd forgotten far
too much to follow the conversation but I caught a word here and
there. By the time the conversation was over I was fairly sure that
he was talking to his mother.

"Jen, do me a favor and hang up?" he asked,
after saying goodbye.

I went over and hung up the phone for him. I
was about to ask why he didn't just turn back into a human when I
remembered that he couldn't turn into a wolf during a new moon.
"Are you stuck as a wolf during full moons?"

TS snorted in amusement. "I wouldn't call it
stuck. But, you're right, I can't shift back until sunrise."

He hopped up onto a bed and turned in circles
a few times, then curled up and heaved a content doggy sigh. I
re-packed my souvenirs
,
in what I hoped was
a more secure way
,
and stowed them in the
closet. It looked like everyone's purchases were starting to pile
up. I glanced at the clock; the ship was leaving in an hour.

"Has Thomas fed yet?" I asked.

"Not yet," TS said.

I was curious about just how much TS could
sense. "What's he feeling?"

"Bored and bit irritated. Probably doing
paperwork. And..." TS cocked his head thoughtfully. "I'd say he's
nowhere near done yet."

"Can you really tell all that?"

He nodded.

I looked at the clock again. "Will Thomas
have time to feed and get back on the ship?"

"He's not in any hurry. Dani's going to get
him."

Charlie walked in from the living room. "Hey,
Jen, what plant are you doing for Peru?" He was holding the
textbook for our plants class.

I hadn't even thought of class for days. I
groaned at both the reminder that we were still taking classes in
between fighting vampires and at the fact I hadn't even started my
essay. "I don't know."

"Clinker, neither do I."

We sat down at the table together and flipped
through the book. By the time we picked our plants and started our
essays Dani was back. He slung two large duffle bags onto the
balcony and then flipped back off of the ship. Seconds later he was
back with Mariana. Then he and Charlie ran out to get food. I felt
guilty that they were taking such a risk as TS and I were the only
ones who needed it, so I was relieved when they made it back
safely. After we ate we gathered on the balcony to watch the port
vanish into the distance as the ship pulled away. When the lights
from the port were just tiny dots we went back into the room. I
returned to my essay, but found it hard to concentrate. I was
starting to get concerned about how far from the port we were
getting.

"Dani? Tom's about ready."

Dani stood and stretched. "Splashy. I'll be
back." He went out onto the balcony and dove off.

I looked at the lights far in the distance
and wondered just how long it would take Dani to swim there and
back. Fifteen minutes later I had my answer. Seconds after TS
lifted his head and wagged his tail Dani and Thomas were back.
Thomas spat out a mouthful of water that narrowly missed Dani.

"I am never doing that again," Thomas
groaned. "Hey, I'm still wet!" he cried as Dani started back into
the room.

"It's a good look for you," Dani said with a
laugh. But he did turn around and dry Thomas off.

"By the way, thanks Dani for taking the time
to swim all the way to port and bring my ass all the way back to
the ship. I really appreciate it." I couldn't even tell that it was
Dani mimicking Thomas until Thomas crossed his arms and glared.

"There's no need to keep thanking me, Tom,"
Thomas said with a smirk. "I already told you it's no problem. It
was my idea after all."

Dani opened his mouth and then closed it
again. "Touché," he muttered.

"Thank you," Thomas said.

"Anytime."

When we were all settled in Thomas explained
what was being done with Mark. It sounded like they had come up
with a plausible reason for why he wouldn't be returning to the
ship. Mark was apparently settling in with some magics in Peru and
was supposedly in high spirits.

The conversation moved to the wisdom of going
to class in the morning. By the time I had finished my essay and
gotten ready for bed they had decided that we'd go, but play it
safe. By then it was late enough that we should probably have
started thinking about going to bed so that we wouldn't be too
tired for class, but nobody seemed ready and I could almost feel
the tension in the air. I wasn't the only one worried about what
we'd do if Nathaniel was still on the ship. Mariana was still doing
homework, Dani settled into his bed with a book that looked like it
was in Greek, and Charlie, still working on his essay, moved from
the table to join Dani a few minutes later. Thomas decided that he
reeked from his dip in the ocean and took a shower. TS sprawled out
on the floor, taking up most of it, and looked sound asleep, but
from the way he kept changing position he was probably still awake.
I found a piece of paper and practiced my fire spell. My sparks
seemed a little bigger, but even more exciting was the fact that my
wand was starting to look less and less like a stick.

I got tired fast and crawled into bed early.
One by one, the others put down what they were doing and tried to
go to sleep too. I woke up a few hours later. I fumbled in the dark
for my wand and cast my night vision spell so that I wouldn't wake
anyone by turning on a light or tripping on something in the dark.
I crept to the bathroom and got a drink of water. On my way back to
bed I noticed that Thomas wasn't on the couch. I looked around in
concern, but before I could get too worried I spotted him out on
the balcony. I eased the door open and joined him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. He was making notes
in a textbook.

"Not really. What about you?"

He shrugged. "I'm used to not sleeping during
full moons. Figured I might as well get some studying in." He
laughed. "Jon will kill me if I get bad grades."

I laughed and wondered if I'd ever used to
how odd the idea of getting several degrees was. I couldn't imagine
being sixty and taking classes and acting like a normal college
student. The ship rocked a little and I grabbed the rail of the
balcony to steady myself. The water looked unusually choppy.

"Looks like it's going to storm," I said.

"Yeah," Thomas agreed. "I heard thunder a few
minutes ago, but it's pretty distant. Dani said it’d hit us
sometime tonight. It's going to be a big one." He frowned. "I hope
it doesn't get too rough."

His comment reminded me of his strange moment
of nausea earlier. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I don't need any blood if that's
what you're getting at."

“No, actually I was thinking about earlier
and wondering if you're ok now."

"Earlier?"

"You threw up," I reminded him.

"Oh. Right. No, I'm fine."

Thomas went right back to his studying. He'd
sounded sort of short, almost dismissive. The fact he clearly
didn't want to talk about it intrigued me even more. I decided to
try another approach and satiate my curiosity about another matter
at the same time. "Is it weird knowing that TS can always sense
what you're doing?"

"Not really. For one thing
,
I've had more than enough time to get used to it. For
another, it's pretty similar to a bond with a familiar, so it
wasn't exactly a new thing for me."

"So, can you sense TS?"

He shot me the oddest look. It was almost
wary. "Soul-pack bonds don't work like that." He was being evasive,
I was sure of it.

"But does
yours
?" I pressed.

Thomas actually closed his book. Then he
heaved a sigh and studied me. Just when I was about to demand an
answer he spoke. "I told you a lot of really personal things the
other night."

I nodded.

"I'm not entirely sure why," he said with a
soft laugh. "Half of it was details I've only ever shared with a
couple of people. But you're easy to talk to. You...I don't know.
You strike me as a good person. We haven't known each all that long
but you've been incredibly...thoughtful. You seem trustworthy
too."

I wasn't sure what to say and I was positive
I was blushing. "Thanks," I muttered.

He sighed. "So...that stuff I told you...I
figured that it went without saying that it was private."

"Of course," I said quickly. "I won't-"

"I know you won't. But this is different.
This is something you can't tell anyone. Ever. With the exception
of your familiar of course." He regarded me for a few more long
seconds and then said, "Yes."