Night’s Reckoning: An Elemental Legacy Novel Page 20

  He walked up to the top deck and searched for Fabia. She was sitting at a picnic table, drinking a glass of wine and showing notes to Professor Chou. She looked up as he approached.

  “Ben!” She smiled brightly before she caught his expression. The smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

  He glanced at Professor Chou and quickly looked away. “I need to speak to you.”

  “Of course.” She stood. “Professor, excuse us. This is likely something regarding the night crew.”

  Professor Chou smiled at Ben. “They are doing extraordinary work. I have never seen such precise excavation. Please give them our thanks.”

  “Yeah.” The words tasted like sand. “I sure will.”

  He and Fabia walked to their spot on the aft deck where they could speak privately.

  “I’m going to tell you something,” Ben said. “And you need to not look upset.”

  Her face went blank. “Is it my family?”

  “No.”

  She nodded.

  “It’s Meili.”

  Fabia’s eyes filled immediately, and she blinked hard.

  “She was killed earlier tonight. She was bitten and bled out. I don’t know who, but I suspect Kadek.”

  Fabia struggled to speak. She was holding back tears and clearing her throat. “It… it can’t be Kadek. He liked Meili. I saw them speaking a number of times.”

  “It has to be either Cheng, Tenzin, Kadek, or Johari.” He glanced around, but they were still alone. “There’s no one else.”

  “Another vampire—”

  “That flew in and immediately gained Meili’s trust before he drained her? This happened almost exactly at sunset.”

  “Tenzin—”

  “She wouldn’t do this.”

  Fabia spoke in a pained whisper. “I think you need to be honest about who she is, Nino.”

  “I’m not saying she’s not capable of murder. Clearly she is. But why would she kill Meili?”

  “Why would any of them?”

  “Because they were hungry? To sabotage the job? To keep Cheng and Tenzin from finding the sword?”

  “And you think Kadek would create this kind of trouble for his sire?”

  “What trouble?” Ben heard people begin to call Meili’s name. “They’re going to look for her, Fabi. They’re going to search the whole ship, and you can’t say anything. You can’t give anything away or you could be in danger.”

  “Is she just going to disappear?”

  “No.” He swallowed hard. “I promise. She won’t be lost at sea. I promise, Fabi.”

  Fabia nodded, took a deep breath, and wiped her eyes. “Okay.”

  “Not a word,” he said as they started back toward the operations room where lights were all flaring. “Not a single word.”

  Ben sat on the top deck, staring toward the horizon as it slowly shifted from deep blue to pearly grey. He was smoking a cigarette when he heard her land behind him.

  “When did you start smoking?”

  Ben barked a laugh. “Tenzin, I picked up my first cigarette when I was nine. Maybe younger.”

  “It’s a bad habit.”

  “I’ve had worse.” He took another drag, enjoying the buzz on the end of his tongue. He didn’t smoke much anymore, but if there was ever a night to fall off the wagon, it was this one. It was cigarettes or whiskey, and there were plenty of cigarettes on the boat and very little whiskey.

  Cigarettes it was.

  “The humans are sleeping now,” Tenzin said. “Or they are in their cabins. I can’t control whether they sleep or not.”

  “You used to make me sleep with amnis,” he said. “Don’t lie.”

  “Only when you were overtired.”

  “Don’t ever use your amnis on me again.”

  “I won’t.”

  Liar.

  Ben stubbed out his cigarette and looked at her from the corner of his eye. “I called your father to tell him Zhang was taking a cut of the artifacts.”

  “How interesting.” She seemed unconcerned.

  “Andrew got back to me tonight. Zhang says that if you are unconcerned with the portion Cheng is taking, he is also unconcerned. He trusts your judgment.”

  “Good.”

  “So I guess I made myself look like an ass.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Tenzin sat next to him. “Zhang now knows that your professional integrity is more important than your loyalty to me. Well done. Very strategic.”

  “That’s not why I did it.”

  “Which will impress him even more.”

  Ben looked at her. Looked away. “Does he know I’m quitting?”

  “I didn’t tell him what you told me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind, Tenzin.”

  “I believe you think that.”

  “Unbelievable.”

  She turned to face him. “You keep saying that word. Cheng is unbelievable. I am unbelievable. Why do you find us so unbelievable lately? Are you angry at us? Or at yourself for being one of us?”

  “I am not one of you.”

  “In everything but biology,” Tenzin said, “you are.”

  Ben rose and picked up the pack of cigarettes. “When are they going to find her body?”

  “Just after daybreak.”

  He shook his head. “I’m going to bed.”

  “Sleep well, Benjamin.”

  “I stopped doing that about three years ago.” He put another cigarette between his lips. “Just another bad habit I picked up hanging around the monsters.”

  23

  Meili was found just after sunrise, the crew lifting a shout when they spotted her. Ben forced himself to walk up to the aft deck to watch Cheng’s human crew lower a small vessel in the water so they could retrieve the wreck of Meili’s body. He forced himself to watch as her friends and colleagues cried out in horror. He forced himself to see the shark bites that covered the evidence of vampire trauma.

  He forced himself to watch it all and never forget who Meili had been and why she had died. She’d died because a vampire had been cruel and vicious. Her body had been wrecked to cover the evidence of their crime.

  There was no diving or recovery that day. Professor Chou was forced to call the girl’s parents and share the heartbreaking news. Meili must have fallen overboard and been unable to signal or shout for help in the night. It was tragic and she would be missed.

  Meili’s parents were stoic. Professor Chou was wrecked.

  All the university students and divers gathered in the operations room and the mess hall where Cheng’s crew cared for them. Mr. Lu arranged for the helicopter to come from Shantou. Professor Chou would accompany Meili’s body back to Shanghai while his colleague, Professor Yao, continued on the Jīnshé.

  Ben spent time with all the students that day, especially Lin, Delun, and Jon, who were Meili’s closest friends.

  “She was so excited to be here,” Jon said. “And she was doing such good work.”

  “She’d never been on a ship this big before,” Lin said. “She had quite a bit of seasickness the first few days. I wonder if that was what happened?”

  Ben kept having to swallow his words. “It could have been anything. If she went out after dark and was walking along the rails, a sudden shift could have caused a fall.”

  “She was such a good swimmer though.” Delun’s hands were folded on the table, and he was worrying his thumb. “This is quite shocking.”

  “You know, I’ve had falls that knocked the wind out of me,” Ben said. “If I’d been alone in the ocean…”

  “We forget the ocean can be so dangerous.” Lin’s eyes filled with tears. “I will miss her so much. She was such a bright and cheerful person.”

  Jon and Delun both concurred, leaving Ben feeling like shit. She hadn’t lost her balance. She hadn’t been careless. She’d been attacked.

  “Do you think Professor Chou will come back soon?” Jon asked. “When will they conduct a funeral?”
/>
  Delun kept his voice low. “Were her parents religious?”

  Lin shook her head. “No, I do not think so.”

  “We should have a wake,” Ben said. “Tonight. For Meili.”

  Lin frowned. “A wake?”

  “We can get pictures of her and put them up in the mess hall. We’ll all share a drink and everyone can share their favorite memories of Meili.”

  “I like that idea,” Lin said. “We can invite the crew as well.”

  Leaving Meili’s friends with a purpose, Ben walked down to the operations room to find Fabia, who was briefing Professor Yao on the status of the excavation so far.

  “The rate of progress has been exceptional, but I am concerned that some of the measurements have been less than precise.” Professor Yao pointed to several spots on a diagram. “There should be storage jars here, for instance. Where are they?”

  “Perhaps lost or damaged.” Fabia spread her hands. “I can only organize by what the divers note, and underwater measurements are notoriously hard to keep consistent.”

  “So true.”

  Fabia shot slightly panicked eyes to Ben.

  “Fabi, can I talk to you for a second?”

  She excused herself from the professor and walked to Ben, switching to Italian. “He might be more difficult.”

  “I thought Professor Chou briefed him.”

  “I thought he had too, but…” Fabia shrugged. “What should we do?”

  “I’ll pass the word along to Tenzin and Cheng tonight,” Ben said. “Anything else I should be concerned about?”

  “Other than a friend being killed?” Fabia’s expression held the same bitterness Ben’s did. “I guess not.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you?” She looked up. “Or are you accustomed to their way of thinking now, Nino?”

  He clenched his teeth. “Not fair. I’m trying to keep everyone safe here.”

  “That’s kind of the point though. We’re not safe. None of us are safe.”

  “Are you quitting on me?”

  “No.” She settled her face into a resolute mask. “But this is the last vampire archaeology project I’ll be working on.”

  She walked back to Professor Chou and continued comparing notes while Ben walked up to the bridge.

  He felt like a punching bag that morning, hit by the students’ grief, Fabia’s anger, and his own guilt. Had there been something he’d missed? Did he need to contact Zhang about this? Would this be seen as a failing on his part? He had no control over vampires. Most days, he felt like he was herding cats just trying to get everyone to cooperate.

  He opened the door to the bridge and waited for the proper announcements to be made. “Mr. Lu, good morning.”

  “Good morning, Mr. Vecchio.” Mr. Lu looked as calm and competent as ever. “How are the young people this morning?”

  “They’re sad, of course. But also grateful to the crew for your thorough search of the ship and the water.”

  Mr. Lu nodded slightly. “That poor girl.”

  “They’re taking the day off work.”

  “I understand.” He glanced over and snapped an order to his first in command. “Mr. Vecchio, I would appreciate a word in private if you have the time.”

  “Of course.” Ben followed Mr. Lu out the door and back to the map room.

  Once they were alone, he asked, “What did you need to speak to me about?”

  Mr. Lu said, “I know what happened to the girl, though not the details. Kadek told me.”

  “Do you think it was him?” Ben knew he was risking his safety by asking the question, but something about Mr. Lu inspired trust.

  “I do not have an opinion about that. I believe it could be one of three people, but my speculation adds nothing.”

  “Then why did you ask me down here?”

  “Because we have a saboteur on the ship.”

  Ben blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “A saboteur is on the ship. There have been attempts to damage one of the remote vehicles the researchers use while they are diving, and I found an artifact hidden in the engine room.”

  “Have you shared this with Kadek or Cheng?”

  He shook his head. “I discovered these things this morning. The attempt at damaging the ROV was clumsy. The person did not understand the technology.”

  “Vampire?”

  “Possibly.”

  “And the artifact?”

  Mr. Lu reached in his pocket. “It is small, but I am quite certain that it came from the Qamar Jadid.”

  It was a bar a little larger than the slim gold bars they’d found the day before. Only, this bar wasn’t made of gold, but of glass. Mr. Lu handed it to him.

  “Where did you find it?”

  “In an isolated part of the engine room. It was wrapped in a rag and tucked behind a pipe.”

  “How—?”

  “This is my ship, Mr. Vecchio. None of my sailors would leave a rag out of place.”

  “Understood. Is that…” Ben squinted. “Is it writing?”

  “Yes, but I do not read Arabic.”

  “Oh, it is Arabic.” He didn’t read Arabic either. He wondered if he could video call Giovanni from the ship.

  “I believe Tenzin could offer a translation,” Mr. Lu said. “If you would be willing to consult with her.”

  “Right.”

  Right.

  The exterior of the glass had been corroded by saltwater, leaving the small tablet looking frosted. Luckily, the writing—which had been etched into the glass—was still legible.

  Tenzin handed the glass bar back to him. “It’s a manifest.”

  “A what?”

  “A list of what was stored on the Qamar Jadid. It has a list of glass pieces. It also has a date and the name of the ship, which should be useful. Fabia will want it for her report.”

  “So it’s nothing…?”

  She rolled her eyes. “If you were hoping it said ‘Watch out for that Zanzibari vampire,’ I’m sorry to say it does not. I don’t know why anyone would take it.”

  “So this could have nothing to do with Meili’s death?”

  “It probably doesn’t. It is mostly likely that one of Cheng’s human crew found it or thought it was interesting and pocketed it to keep as a souvenir. It’s not valuable except for historical interest.”

  “Okay.” Ben put the glass bar back in his pocket. “Why would a manifest be written on a glass tablet?”

  “Because it’s waterproof?” Tenzin shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “Did Harun write it?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “It’s possible that he included a list of his pieces to distinguish them from the rest of the gifts Arosh was sending to Zhang. A glass tablet would be… a bit of a flourish, which would not have been out of character. He was very proud.”

  “Okay.” He closed his hand over the tablet. “I’m going to keep this with me for now. Whoever hid it, I don’t want them knowing who has it or who discovered it. The last thing we need is another vampire targeting humans.”

  “I don’t think she was targeted, Benjamin.” Tenzin’s voice was sad. “I think she was simply convenient.”

  “Nope.” He shook his head. “You’re the one who taught me there is no such thing as coincidence.”

  “I don’t think I ever said that.”

  “Pretty sure you did.” He walked to the door. “If you didn’t say it, you showed it. A hundred times over.”

  “Benjamin.”

  He stopped at the door and turned. “What?”

  She sat on her pallet, cross-legged, with music playing from her tablet. “I do not understand your anger.”

  His chest felt hollow. “I’m not angry anymore.” I just love you.

  “I have tried to be honest with you.”

  “You tried?” He smiled. “That’s an interesting way of putting it.”

  “Truth doesn’t come readily to me like it does to you.”

  “What does?”

 
“Survival.”

  Ben nodded. “I know.”

  “I don’t recognize the emotion I see on your face right now.”

  “I know.” His voice was soft. “But… I can’t really explain it to you, Tiny.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  How could he explain what he barely understood? He loved her. He probably always would. But he knew she wasn’t good for him, and he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his life just to spend it on the periphery of hers.

  “I can’t.” His voice broke. “I’m sorry, Tenzin. I can’t explain it.”

  She nodded and turned back to her book. It was a thin volume and it looked like it was Italian.

  “What are you reading?”

  “Sixteenth-century Italian philosophy by someone named Tullia d’Aragona.” She glanced up. “Fabia was finished with it and I ran out of books.”

  “Right.” He waved. “I’ll see you.”

  “I will see you, Benjamin.”

  Fabia and Ben worked with the university divers for the next three days, trying to make up for the loss of Meili and the disruption to the excavation. The vampires had slowed down and were starting to search away from the main body of the wreck.

  While the night crew had found jar after jar of fine glasswork, metal objects of unspeakable beauty, and gold bars and coins, not a single weapon had been found, especially not the sword that was the main goal of the expedition.

  Ben and Fabia swam around the wreck site. Ben tapped Fabia’s shoulder and switched his radio to a private channel. “Do you think it’s lost?”

  “We have no way of knowing.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense.” She stopped to watch Lin and Jon take a basket up to the surface. “Even if the blade has deteriorated, the hilt was supposed to be made of precious metal and gemstones. Those things would last.”

  “Is it possible someone stole it?”

  “It’s possible. Anything is possible.” Fabia was watching the divers. “Have you noticed something unusual today?”

  “Fabi, most of this stuff is a mystery to me. I only know a little of what you guys—”

  “That area over there.” She pointed to a section of the hull. “No one is working on it.”