Incubus Moon (19 page)

Captured in the reflective glass was an eerie replica of myself—hair fuller and blonder, my eyes a striking sapphire, their irises seemingly made up of multiple, glittering facets. My face was devoid of lines and blemishes, and stripping off the remnants of my T-shirt revealed a sculpted, marble-like torso.

“His blood,” I watched my better-self whisper to me.

As remarkable as these changes were, they didn’t keep me from noticing the faint seams of rose colored light seeping from behind the heavy silk drapes of the upper suite. I didn’t need a clock to tell me that dawn had arrived, and with it, my chance at escape.

That same pinkish light tinged the yacht’s walls and furnishings beyond the opening to the stateroom, lending an almost ethereal quality to them. Creeping past a central staircase now, I half expected Dimitri to jump out, fangs bared and primed for attack. Then again, he probably wouldn’t risk coming close to the windows, even in this subdued lighting.

Truth be told, shy of death by silver bullets and an intense aversion to direct sunlight, I really didn’t know what brought a vampire
down. What I did know was that I had to resume my investigation, one deck at a time, until I could figure out where I was and how to get off this floating, luxury prison.

Large, vertical windows on both the starboard and port sides offered sweeping views of the slate-gray sea beyond, the water tinged pink from the ever-lightening sky catching in its gentle swells. Not a hint of land on the horizon, though.
Shit
.

Movement overhead halted my exploration.

My heartbeat pulsed in my throat and a fine layer of perspiration had broken out across my forehead and upper lip. Was Dimitri up there right now? Were there other vampires on board?

Because whomever or
whatever
was moving on the floor above me had several pairs of feet. What I needed to know was: did they have fangs or a more human need to carry weapons for defense, or both?

I approached the same sliding-glass door used in my botched getaway with caution and peered out at the covered patio. Devoid of movement, a rush of balmy air glided over my skin the instant I slipped outside. Was the deck above like this one or exposed to the elements?

I’d use the stairwell ahead to find out.

Taking each tread with care, I paused midway to steal a glance over the deck lip, which was in fact open to the rapidly paling sky. Two waiters hustled to set out crystal, silver, and china at a linen draped table beneath a large umbrella strung with lanterns.

Vampires eat real food?
Dimitri seemed more of a fang-to-jugular kind of guy.

“Ah, Mr. Iverson,” a commanding voice called down to me.

From my current position, all I could see of the man was a pair of tanned, muscular calves. The rest of him came handsomely into view upon his descent from within a spiral staircase.

“Please,” he said with an affable smile, gesturing to the table. “Join me for breakfast. Your host informed me that you might find your way up on deck.”

I left the shelter of the stairwell thinking,
So, my
host
knew I’d disobey him
. This underscored my hunch that Dimitri meant me no real harm. Probably.

The rumbling in my stomach reminded me that I hadn’t eaten since… I couldn’t actually remember how long it had been. More importantly, the moment I drew nearer to the man in his crisp, white uniform, I knew that he was human. Not sizzling in the rising sun was my first clue.

“Loukas Vardoulakis, Captain of the
Francesca Adorata
.” He extended his hand. “You may call me Louk, if you like.”

Francesca
. Dimitri named his ship after the woman in the portrait. The woman he’d murdered long ago and who now visited me in dreams. The woman who’d called me brother.

I regarded Vardoulakis’s cordiality with circumspection. The man did, after all, work for my vampire captor.

A bit shorter than me and ruggedly handsome, he sported military-length brown hair and a substantial build without being stocky. His nose, chin, and jaw were prominent yet proportionate and the man’s olive complexion had been deepened by many hours under the sun.

“Austin,” I said, accepting his hand. His grip was warm and firm. “Thanks for the offer of breakfast. I’m pretty hungry.”

Vardoulakis responded with what I took to be a look of compassionate understanding. Perhaps this had more to do with the awkward way in which we’d met. I was dressed in baggy cargo shorts and nothing else.

He sat down and motioned once again to the chair opposite his own. “Please.”

From homicidal blood sucker to breakfast with an accommodating Greek captain. Was my day looking up? “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting such nice treatment.”

The captain watched me sit down and folded large hands on the tabletop. Nodding to the waiters, he regarded me through shrewder eyes now. “I am at your complete service.”

After breakfast, Vardoulakis bid me good day and withdrew from the table.

My efforts to use our encounter as a means to pump him for information that might improve my chances for escape were a complete bust. Persuasion was supposed to be my calling card.

Some incubus I turned out to be!

Still, I had daylight on my side. I’d use this valuable time to figure out another way off the ship. And if push came to shove, I’d resort to stronger measures. Violence and intimidation might not be in my nature (or were they?), but this was life or death. My life! I had to be clever and, yes, maybe even ruthless if I hoped to survive this ordeal.

Besides, Vardoulakis worked for the bad guy.

Of course I ignored his suggestion to retire to the
comfort
of my stateroom. Like that was going to happen. Not when I had a prison break to make happen.

I took in a deep breath of sea air and gazed up at the azure sky dotted by fluffy white clouds. The temperature was perfect for being outdoors, a light breeze having kicked up to eliminate all trace of the earlier humidity, its gentle buffets generating little whitecaps that licked
across the surface of the deep blue water. The day was idyllic, if this were a pleasure cruise.

Since it wasn’t, time to get busy and explore the ship.

I quickly discovered that the radio room and bridge were inaccessible. Unless I broke down the locked doors, which wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

The few times I encountered crewmembers, they treated me as though I were invisible. Perhaps it was protocol not to look at or speak with guests. More than likely, my vampire captor had threatened them with bodily harm if they didn’t steer clear of me.

Factoring in the captain and the two waiters at breakfast, I’d come upon an additional ten men during my exploration of the
Francesca Adorata
. Far too many to entertain the notion of escaping unseen, even with my revved-up incubus strength.

Frustrated but by no means defeated, I slumped onto a teak lounger on the uppermost deck and gave serious consideration to storming the bridge. Steady nerves and a clear head would be paramount, which the bitch of a headache I was nursing might make a little difficult.

I leaned forward in the chair and rubbed at my throbbing temples. I’d never been troubled by headaches before. Conversely, I’d never suffered a major spinal injury, gotten knocked out of a seven-story building, or been pumped full of vampire blood.

My life was just filled with new excitement.

I also couldn’t think of any other way off this damn ship, shy of throwing myself to the sharks. No wonder my head was aching! Even my eyes were extra-sensitive to the bright sunlight. I also felt itchy all over. Maybe I was allergic to something I’d eaten at breakfast?

On second thought, who cared when two Kawasaki 300LX’s were staring me in the face!

Hey, if I was strong enough to kick a vampire clear across a stateroom, tossing one of these jet skis overboard to use as an escape vehicle couldn’t be that much more difficult.

On closer inspection, the sleek watercraft were missing keys. Even if I had access to them, how far would either take me before running out of fuel? There wasn’t a hint of land in any direction. The gravity of my situation was sinking in all the more.

Commandeering the yacht was my only alternative at this point. I was certainly powerful enough to take on several humans at once. Their bullets were another story.

Was I really willing to risk getting shot—or worse?

Descending two outer decks, I played out various scenarios in my mind, but my throbbing head and increasingly itchy skin were making it difficult to concentrate.

A sudden rush of bile forced me to the rail below and in front of the pilothouse. I leaned over it, on the verge of losing my breakfast, which the wind would push back into my face. But this was of little concern, because I was going to pass out first.

A door flew open to the right of the wall of dark glass curving around the pilothouse. Vardoulakis rushed through it waving his arms and yelling at me, but I couldn’t hear him over the screams. My screams.

CHAPTER 22

Whatever Vardoulakis was shouting to his men, I prayed it was Greek for
shoot me
, because a ball of flames had engulfed my entire body!

Struck hard from behind, I toppled overboard and into the ocean which quickly swallowed the incinerating heat. Cool, salty water found its way into every cracked and ruined bit of flesh, this new torture only compounded by the rough hands grappling with and tugging me further down and away from the surface.

I could have fought back. Instead, I welcomed death into my mouth and lungs, praying for its darkness to press in from the corners of my eyes and release me.

Dimitri must have planned it this way all along. He’d had Vardoulakis’ men set me on fire and drown me. A monster would enjoy causing the most pain and horror possible.

No matter. Laura, my dead mother, was floating in front of me with outstretched arms, a poignant expression on her face in the muted shafts of light filtering down to form a silver- cerulean aura around her. My nightmare was finally over.

“Intriguing,” a woman said from within a dense miasma, “and rare amongst the human animals. Are you certain he serves as a true conduit for the dead?”

“You were once a human animal,” a familiar male voice replied.

This wasn’t happening. The monster had followed me into death!

“And you were never one to take a male as a companion. Especially one reduced to such an appalling state. What has changed in you, Dimitri?”

“Your visit is ill-timed.”

“So I see,” she hit back. “But then I’ve come on Council business.”

My eyes snapped open and the scream that tore loose from my singed throat had little to do with Dimitri Ravello rushing over to me and everything to do with the searing explosion of raw nerves beneath my skin. The more I thrashed under his restraint, the more it felt like molten lava was being squeezed through my arteries and veins.

“It’s fire!” My hands shot up into his chest. “I’m on fire!”

Dimitri lifted from me as though weightless, the trajectory of his body arrested by the bank of curved windows opposite the bed. The sound of thick glass cracking was followed by his body striking the floor.