Page 29 of Death Dance

I would, too. “When do we set sail?”

“Our current schedule is to depart the morning after Dagan confirms Breckenan has done his check in and is headed back to his fortress. That should give us a week at sea before he realizes something is amiss. Breckenan will likely attempt to meet us at port in Europe, not understanding that he will be stepping into quite the elaborate trap, one filled with the preternatural who will stop at nothing to see him eradicated. I will also be giving you lessons on how to change into various other shapes while we cruise. The same goes for you, Emerick. While cats are most excellent creatures, and I approve of your natural tendencies, I want you to swim rather than sink, and should it be needed, be able to take to the air. My daughter will far surpass you on this, as it is her nature. It is not yours.”

Emerick chuckled, and he stared out over the water past the cruise ships in port. “Why have you hid who and what you are until now, Charlie?”

“I never needed to expose it until now, that is why. What Jeremy Breckenan has done and will do will forever change life for preternaturals. I have witnessed what happens when lifeless gods come into being at the wish of the devout. And back in those days, those were not wishes for death and destruction, not like what Breckenan and his ilk does. If such things come to pass again, monsters far worse than vampires might spring to life. We simply don’t know. I do not wish to find out.”

Neither did I. “Will killing him and his brood be enough?”

“It should be. When the power of belief wanes, the god shrivels and dies. Cutting off the head will kill the body in this case. But should some dark god of greed and destruction be born, I can’t even imagine the level of damage they might do. I have already seen what newly birthed vampires can do. I know how many died to usher my family into their second lives. But that is what sets us apart from the other vampires, Pepper. We cannot fall to bloodlust—it isn’t in our blood nor our nature. We drink because we must, but we always have the choice to not drink. Even when you were driven by thirst, you never lost control, not even when you bordered close to death.”

“Did I?” I asked, furrowing my brows. “Did I border close to death?”

“From what I saw of the footage, you were more of a wraith than a woman on your hunts, all skin and bones—beyond the point most vampires would have succumbed to bloodlust and death.” My father sighed. “I will pay Breckenan back extra for that. But yes, I knew all along you did not die because you were never part of his brood; you were quietly part of mine, and when Breckenan did as he did, I kept the bonds low and fragile. When your dessert decided to swoop in, I could sense his nature—and I permitted him to establish a bond with you and drown mine out. He, however, did not realize he actually battled two instead of one.” My father’s expression turned bemused. “He also did not realize I was the one who ultimately broke the bindings, allowing him to do as he wished and claim you as his.”

Emerick scowled. “That is quite irritating.”

I jabbed my husband with my elbow. “I might even rethink abstinence in the comfort of our cruise ship suite once we’re sailing.”

“Take us to the Eclipse, please,” Emerick requested.

I laughed while my father shook his head but complied.

Upon boarding the Eclipse, we stepped back through time to a world of ballrooms, crystal chandeliers, elegant crown moldings, and simpler yet somehow more extravagant times. Instead of casinos offering gambling and fleeting entertainment, tea parlors, bars reminiscent of saloons, dinner theaters, showrooms, and card rooms offered amusement for travelers. The upper deck boasted a cigar bar for the men, a spa for the women, and shuffleboard, chess, and other board games for everyone to enjoy.

In order to board the Eclipse, passengers needed to be at least twenty-one years of age. Pets were welcome aboard, and every cabin had the option to rent an electric litter box which housekeeping would attend to daily. As though confirming the truth of our guide’s words, a vampire named Adelmo paid us a visit with a scraggly kitten with orange and white fur, who bounded down the hallway mewing all the while.

Over a thousand years ago, my father had turned Adelmo following an accident that would have otherwise taken his life—an accident my father held responsibility for. Much like an adoring puppy, Adelmo lurked in my father’s shadow, or so my father claimed.

I remembered the man from my childhood, one of many who’d kept an eagle eye on me in the hotel playground.

Adelmo grimaced at the appearance of the kitten, waited for the small fluff to get closer, and scooped it up. “I’m sorry, Charlie. We have a kitten infestation. We’re trying to catch them all, but the crew loves them, and people keep bringing female strays aboard when in port.”

My father crossed his eyes, lifted his hand, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “There best not be rats or mice.”

“The cats are doing their job admirably.”

The kitten mouthed at Adelmo’s hand, and giggling over the animal’s antics, I claimed the baby from him and gave it a kiss on the nose. “Have they had their shots?”

“All but the kittens have been given their shots, as it’s a requirement for bringing the strays aboard. They must be clean of disease, given their vaccinations, and purged of fleas and other pests,” the old vampire admitted. “The kittens should be clean of disease; we haven’t had any other animals on board, and all the females who were pregnant were given the chance to give birth and nurse before they were taken in to be spayed. All the females are now spayed, however.”

“It is what it is, and we are a cat friendly vessel. How many cats?”

“We believe we have twenty-seven females, fifteen males, and eighty kittens. We have captured sixty-two kittens, and they have been altered.” Adelmo gestured to the one I held. “That one has avoided capture until now. Hand it back, please.”

I scowled but obeyed, and he checked between the kitten’s legs. “While orange ones are usually male, this one is a female.”

I reclaimed the kitten, gave her another kiss on the nose, and cuddled with her. “Does the ship have a vet?”

“We do. We always have a qualified vet on board, and we have a clinic for humans and animals alike. A great many elderly travel on board, and we provide health services to them. We charge an extra two hundred dollars for full medical services should people wish to purchase in advance, and should anyone suffer a medical emergency requiring significant care, they are billed two hundred dollars. At last check, over ninety percent of our passengers opt to pay for medical services in advance, and many of them book checkups with one of our physicians.” Adelmo grinned at me. “If you wish to keep the kitten, no one has claimed that one yet. The one who catches the kitten decides if they keep the kitten. All kittens wearing ribbons or collars have been selected by a member of the crew or a dockworker from the yard.”

Only one man could stop me from keeping the kitten, and I regarded him with wide eyes, hoping he translated my expression as beseeching.

“Your limit is five kittens. After that, our penthouse would become overrun. Your minimum is two kittens, because I will not have lonely kittens in our penthouse when we are gone and cannot play with them every moment. I’m going to insist on another female kitten, however, because I do not wish masculine competition in my own home.”

I laughed at his restriction. “We should see if we can catch more kittens while we’re touring the ship. If we can’t, we’ll go to a shelter and snatch up unwanted female cats and make them princesses of our penthouse. We should ask Breanna if she wants a pet. She might not feel like she can ask.”

My spouse raised a brow at me. “You mean like you felt like you couldn’t ask?”